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DuoApplication · Cisco

CVE-2022-20662

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.0.0 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A vulnerability in the smart card login authentication of Cisco Duo for macOS could allow an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to bypass authentication. This vulnerability exists because the assigned user of a smart card is not properly matched with the authenticating user. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by configuring a smart card login to bypass Duo authentication. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to use any personal identity verification (PIV) smart card for authentication, even if the smart card is not assigned to the authenticating user.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A smart card authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Duo for macOS where the system fails to validate that the smart card holder matches the authenticating user, allowing any PIV smart card to be used for authentication regardless of ownership.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Cisco that implements proper user-to-smart-card identity validation before permitting Duo authentication bypass.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
DuoApplication
Affected:< 2.0.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Physical
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Cisco Duo for macOS is installed
    Check for Duo application in /Applications or use 'ls /Applications | grep -i duo' in Terminal
    Affected if Duo application is not present on the system
  2. Identify the installed Duo version
    Open Duo app and go to the account menu to view the version number, or run 'defaults read /Applications/Duo.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleVersion' in Terminal
    Affected if Version number is less than 2.0.0 (e.g., 1.x.x series)
  3. Verify smart card authentication is configured
    Open Duo for macOS preferences or security settings and check if PIV smart card authentication is enabled or configured
    Affected if Smart card/PIV authentication is enabled or configured on the Duo client
  4. Check smart card bypass is active
    Examine Duo configuration for settings that allow authentication bypass when a smart card is presented, such as 'Allow PIV authentication without user matching' or similar settings
    Affected if Any smart card can authenticate without user-card ownership validation

A user is affected if Cisco Duo for macOS is installed with version below 2.0.0 and smart card/PIV authentication is enabled, allowing any PIV card to authenticate regardless of ownership.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.0.0 or later
Fixed in 2.0.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Cisco that implements proper user-to-smart-card identity validation before permitting Duo authentication bypass.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Duo for macOS version 2.0.0 or later

  1. 1. Open the Cisco Duo for macOS application on the affected system
  2. 2. Navigate to the application's settings or preferences panel
  3. 3. Check the current installed version of Duo for macOS
  4. 4. If the version is below 2.0.0, initiate an update check within the application
  5. 5. Alternatively, download the latest Duo for macOS installer from the official Cisco Duo download portal
  6. 6. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to upgrade to version 2.0.0 or later
  7. 7. After installation, verify that the new version is correctly installed
  8. 8. Test smart card authentication to confirm the vulnerability is remediated

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Duo Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20662 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data