Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2022-20739
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 CLI of Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system as the root user. The attacker must be authenticated on the affected system as a low-privileged user to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability exists because a file leveraged by a root user is executed when a low-privileged user runs specific commands on an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting arbitrary commands to a specific file as a lower-privileged user and then waiting until an admin user executes specific commands. The commands would then be executed on the device by the root user. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to escalate their privileges on the affected system from a low-privileged user to the root 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 confidenceCisco SD-WAN vManage CLI vulnerability allows a low-privileged authenticated user to escalate privileges to root by injecting arbitrary commands into a specific file that gets executed when an administrator runs certain CLI commands. The attack requires local CLI access as a low-privileged user and social engineering to wait for admin execution.
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
Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication
= 20.7
Sd Wan VmanageApplication
< 20.6.1CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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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Identify the installed vManage versionLog into vManage via CLI or web UI and run the command 'show version' or check Administration > Settings > System to view the software version.Affected if The version is exactly 20.7 or any version earlier than 20.6.1.
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Verify if low-privileged CLI accounts existCheck the user accounts configured in vManage by running 'show users' or accessing Administration > User Management in the web UI. Look for non-admin users with CLI access privileges.Affected if There are authenticated users with only standard or read-only privileges who have CLI access.
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Confirm CLI interface is enabled and accessibleVerify that the CLI is accessible by attempting to access vManage via SSH or console. Check configuration for 'enable' or 'privilege' settings in the user account configuration.Affected if The CLI interface is enabled and reachable by non-admin users.
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Check for recent suspicious file modifications in CLI-accessible directoriesReview system logs and file system for any unexpected modifications to files in /opt/sdwan or similar directories accessible via CLI, particularly around the time of low-privileged user sessions.Affected if Unusual file modifications are found that were not initiated by administrators.
Your environment is affected if the installed vManage version is 20.7 or any version prior to 20.6.1 AND low-privileged authenticated users have CLI access, allowing potential command injection into files that administrators execute.
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 · scoped20.6.1
Apply the Cisco patch for this vulnerability; restrict CLI access to trusted users and monitor for unusual command execution patterns. Until patched, avoid running vManage CLI commands as root after other users have had CLI session access.
Upgrade to Cisco SD-WAN vManage version 20.6.1 or later (20.6.3.2 or 20.8+ recommended)
- 1. Identify the current installed version of Cisco SD-WAN vManage using the CLI command: `vmanage-show version`
- 2. For Catalyst SD WAN Manager version 20.7, upgrade to version 20.8 or later
- 3. For SD WAN Vmanage versions prior to 20.6.1, upgrade to version 20.6.1 or later (20.6.3.2 recommended for additional fixes)
- 4. Download the upgrade software from Cisco Software Download Center (requires valid Cisco service contract)
- 5. Upload the upgrade image to vManage using `request package upload` CLI command
- 6. Initiate the upgrade process using `request system upgrade` CLI command
- 7. Verify the upgrade completed successfully and the new version is installed
- 8. Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by verifying the affected CLI command behavior no longer allows privilege escalation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Catalyst Sd Wan Manager
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20739 — 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-2022-20739 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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