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Telepresence Video Communication ServerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2022-20754

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0.5 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
Multiple vulnerabilities in the API and web-based management interfaces of Cisco Expressway Series and Cisco TelePresence Video Communication Server (VCS) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with read/write privileges to the application to write files or execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system of an affected device as the root user. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.

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

Multiple vulnerabilities in the API and web-based management interfaces of Cisco Expressway Series and Cisco TelePresence VCS allow an authenticated, remote attacker with read/write privileges to write files or execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system as the root user.

MitigationApply Cisco vendor patches or firmware updates for Expressway Series and TelePresence VCS as specified in the Cisco advisory; restrict management interface access to trusted networks and enforce least-privilege access controls.

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
Telepresence Video Communication ServerApplication
Affected:< 14.0.5

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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. Identify if Cisco TelePresence VCS or Expressway is deployed
    Check for the presence of TelePresence VCS or Expressway applications in your environment. Look for processes named 'xmpp', 'web', or check for the product in your asset inventory.
    Affected if The product is Cisco TelePresence VCS or Expressway Series and is running in your environment.
  2. Determine the installed firmware version
    Log into the CLI of the appliance and run the command 'version', or access the web interface and navigate to the status/diagnostics page to view the firmware version.
    Affected if The version number is lower than 14.0.5 (for example, 14.0.4, 14.0.3, 13.x, or earlier).
  3. Verify the web-based management interface is enabled
    Access the web interface via HTTPS on port 443, or check via CLI with 'webadmin status' or similar command. Confirm the web management service is running.
    Affected if The web-based management interface is enabled and accessible on the appliance.
  4. Check if API access is available
    Attempt to reach the API endpoint (typically /putxml or /document on port 443) or check via CLI configuration for API settings. Verify if the API service is enabled.
    Affected if The API interface is enabled and accepts requests.

Your environment is affected if you are running Cisco TelePresence VCS or Expressway with a firmware version below 14.0.5 and the web management interface or API is enabled.

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 14.0.5 or later
Fixed in 14.0.5
Interim mitigation

Apply Cisco vendor patches or firmware updates for Expressway Series and TelePresence VCS as specified in the Cisco advisory; restrict management interface access to trusted networks and enforce least-privilege access controls.

Recommended fix High confidence

14.0.5 or later

  1. 1. Back up the current VCS configuration and any critical data before starting the upgrade process.
  2. 2. Download Cisco TelePresence Video Communication Server version 14.0.5 or later from the official Cisco download portal (software.cisco.com).
  3. 3. Access the VCS admin interface and navigate to the maintenance or upgrade section.
  4. 4. Upload the version 14.0.5 (or later) software image to the VCS.
  5. 5. Initiate the upgrade process following Cisco's standard upgrade procedures for the VCS platform.
  6. 6. After the upgrade completes, verify the system is running version 14.0.5 or later by checking the VCS admin interface or CLI.
  7. 7. Confirm the VCS is functioning normally and all services are operational.
Caveat Standard VCS upgrade - review Cisco release notes for any configuration or compatibility considerations before upgrading

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

Fix this in Telepresence Video Communication Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,570
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,512.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-20754 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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