Virtualized Infrastructure ManagerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2022-20732
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the configuration file protections of Cisco Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to access confidential information and elevate privileges on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper access permissions for certain configuration files. An attacker with low-privileged credentials could exploit this vulnerability by accessing an affected device and reading the affected configuration files. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain internal database credentials, which the attacker could use to view and modify the contents of the database. The attacker could use this access to the database to elevate privileges on the affected device.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability in Cisco VIM stems from overly permissive access controls on certain configuration files. A low-privileged authenticated local attacker can read these files to extract internal database credentials, then use direct database access to view/modify data and escalate privileges to administrator level on the affected device.
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
Virtualized Infrastructure ManagerApplication
< 4.2.2CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Cisco VIM installed versionUse the command-line interface or management interface to retrieve the currently installed version of Cisco Virtualized Infrastructure Manager. Common methods include running 'vim -v' or accessing the VIM management dashboard version information.Affected if The installed version is lower than 4.2.2 (any version before 4.2.2, for example 4.2.1, 4.1.x, 4.0.x, or earlier)
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Identify configuration files with database credentialsLocate configuration files within the Cisco VIM installation directory that store database connection parameters, credentials, or authentication tokens. These are typically found in config, etc, or similar directories under the VIM installation path.Affected if Configuration files containing database credentials exist on the system (they are present by default in vulnerable versions)
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Verify file permissions on configuration filesCheck the read permissions on identified configuration files containing database credentials using file system permission commands (such as 'ls -la' or equivalent). Determine which user accounts and groups have read access to these files.Affected if Low-privileged or non-administrative users have read access to configuration files containing database credentials (files are world-readable or readable by non-admin users)
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Test database credential accessAttempt to read the configuration files using a low-privileged local user account to confirm whether database credentials can be extracted by an attacker with basic system access.Affected if A low-privileged authenticated user can successfully read and extract database credentials from configuration files
A system is affected if it runs any version of Cisco VIM prior to 4.2.2 AND configuration files containing database credentials are readable by low-privileged local users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped4.2.2
Apply vendor-provided patches for CVE-2022-20732 which修正 configuration file permissions. If patching is immediately infeasible, manually restrict read access to configuration files containing database credentials to only authorized administrative users and processes.
4.2.2
- Verify current Cisco VIM version using system information or command line interface
- Review Cisco VIM 4.2.2 release notes for upgrade prerequisites, compatibility requirements, and any pre-upgrade procedures
- Create a complete backup of the current VIM configuration and database
- Follow Cisco's official upgrade procedure for VIM (typically via ISO image or management interface)
- Upgrade to version 4.2.2 or later
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the running version
- Confirm that configuration file permissions have been corrected post-upgrade
- Test that the system functions normally and database access is properly secured
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Virtualized Infrastructure Manager
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,440.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20732 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20732 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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