Unified Communications ManagerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2022-20790
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 web-based management interface of Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) and Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (Unified CM SME) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to read arbitrary files from the underlying operating system. This vulnerability exists because the web-based management interface does not properly validate user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request that contains directory traversal character sequences to an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to access sensitive files on the underlying operating system.
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 confidenceDirectory traversal vulnerability in Cisco Unified CM and Unified CM SME web-based management interface allows authenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary OS files by sending HTTP requests with directory traversal sequences (..) in user-supplied input.
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
Unified Communications ManagerApplication
<= 14.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 Cisco Unified CM versionAccess the web management interface and navigate to the About page, or use the CLI command 'show version' to retrieve the exact version numberAffected if The installed version is 14.0 or lower (any version <= 14.0)
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Confirm the web-based management interface is enabledCheck if the Cisco Unified CM web interface (HTTPS on port 8443 or similar) is listening and responding by attempting to access the login page from an authorized hostAffected if The web management interface is accessible and responding to HTTP/HTTPS requests
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Verify authentication is required for the web interfaceAttempt to access the management interface without credentials - a properly configured system should redirect to a login page or return an authentication errorAffected if The interface does not require valid authentication, or allows authenticated access with low-privilege user accounts that can be exploited
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Check network exposure of the management interfaceReview firewall rules or use netstat to confirm which IP addresses and networks can reach the web management port (typically 8443)Affected if The web management interface is exposed to untrusted networks or the internet rather than only trusted internal networks
You are affected if Cisco Unified CM version 14.0 or lower is running with the web management interface enabled and accessible to your network location
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 · scopedApply Cisco's official patch for CVE-2022-20790. Until patched, restrict network access to the web management interface to trusted/internal networks only.
Cisco Unified Communications Manager 14.0(1) or later fixed release
- 1. Identify the current CUCM version by navigating to Cisco Unified Reporting > System Reports > Unified CM Cluster > Node View, or using the 'show version' CLI command
- 2. Download the fixed Cisco Unified Communications Manager release from Cisco Software Central (software.cisco.com)
- 3. Ensure you have a valid backup of the CUCM system (Cisco Unified Communications Manager Disaster Recovery System backup)
- 4. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade will require system downtime
- 5. If using Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition, apply the same version upgrade
- 6. After upgrading, verify the fix by confirming the new version is installed and the web interface is functional
- 7. Alternatively, if upgrade is not immediately possible, restrict web-based management interface access to only trusted management networks using ACLs on the underlying network infrastructure
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Unified Communications Manager
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20790 — 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-2022-20790 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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- 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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