Threats / MikroTik / CVE-2018-7445
CVE-2018-7445
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
MikroTik RouterOS vulnerability
MikroTik RouterOS contains a stack-based buffer overflow in NetBIOS session request processing, allowing remote code execution for attackers with service access.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A stack buffer overflow in RouterOS NetBIOS handling enables unauthenticated remote code execution. The high EPSS score and confirmed wild exploitation indicate active abuse. Immediate patching is critical for affected deployments.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-09-084EPSS 0.61018 (verify live)5Exploit Weaponized · public PoC6CVSS 9.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
2 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-09-08).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.61018 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 9.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: MikroTik, RouterOS. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-119 Memory Buffer Bounds Error — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 1634 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious NetBIOS session request packet exceeding buffer boundaries to overwrite stack memory.
Business
Network infrastructure becomes compromised, enabling lateral movement and data exfiltration across connected systems.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I execute arbitrary code with RouterOS process privileges to establish persistent backdoor access.
Business
Attackers gain sustained control of critical routing infrastructure, disrupting network availability and integrity.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I pivot from the compromised router to internal network segments and connected devices.
Business
Enterprise network perimeter is breached, exposing internal assets and sensitive communications to unauthorized access.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05