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Unified Communications ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2022-20791

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14su2 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A vulnerability in the database user privileges of Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (Unified CM SME), and Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM & Presence Service (Unified CM IM&P) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to read arbitrary files on the underlying operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient file permission restrictions. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted command from the API to the application. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to read arbitrary files on the underlying operating system of the affected device. The attacker would need valid user credentials to exploit this vulnerability.

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

This vulnerability in Cisco Unified CM, Unified CM SME, and Unified CM IM&P stems from insufficient file permission restrictions in the database user privileges. An authenticated attacker with valid credentials can send crafted commands via the API to read arbitrary files on the underlying operating system, effectively achieving arbitrary file read through improper privilege enforcement.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco security patch for this vulnerability. Ensure strong credential management and consider network segmentation to limit exposure to authenticated API interfaces.

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
Affected:<= 11.5\(1.10000.6\)>= 12.5, <= 12.5\(1.10000.22\)>= 14.0, <= 14.0\(1.10000.20\)
Unified Communications Manager Im And Presence ServiceApplication
Affected:<= 12.5\(1\)>= 14.0, < 14su2

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify Cisco Unified CM or IM&P installation and version
    Run 'show version' on the Cisco Unified CM admin CLI or check the installed packages via 'pkg -l | grep -i cucm' on the underlying Linux OS. Alternatively, access the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration web interface and navigate to Help > About to view the version.
    Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: <= 11.5(1.10000.6); >= 12.5, <= 12.5(1.10000.22); >= 14.0, <= 14.0(1.10000.20) for Unified CM, or <= 12.5(1); >= 14.0, < 14su2 for IM&P.
  2. Verify the AXL API service is enabled
    Log in to Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration and navigate to Cisco Unified Serviceability > Tools > Service Activation, or check via the command line using 'run sql select name, state from service' where name contains 'AXL'.
    Affected if The AXL API service (Cisco AXL Web Service) is activated and running.
  3. Confirm API access is exposed externally or to untrusted networks
    Review the network bindings and access controls on the Cisco Unified CM server. Check the 'Enterprise Parameters' > 'Security' settings for API endpoint accessibility, or review the Tomcat or HTTP service bindings via 'run netstat -an | grep 8443' (AXL typically uses port 8443).
    Affected if The AXL API port (8443/tcp or similar) is bound to an IP address accessible from network segments outside the trusted management network.
  4. Check for existing API user accounts with elevated privileges
    Log in to Cisco Unified CM Administration and navigate to User Management > API User, or run the query 'run sql select userid, digestcredentials, pincredentials from applicationuser' to list API-capable users.
    Affected if There exists at least one active AXL API user account with valid credentials, regardless of privilege level, since the vulnerability exploits insufficient privilege enforcement in the database user context.

A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable version of Cisco Unified CM or IM&P, has the AXL API service enabled, and maintains at least one authenticated API user account, allowing an attacker with those credentials to read arbitrary files via crafted API commands.

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 14su2 or later
Fixed in 14su2
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Cisco security patch for this vulnerability. Ensure strong credential management and consider network segmentation to limit exposure to authenticated API interfaces.

Recommended fix High confidence

Unified CM: 11.5(1)SU9+ / 12.5(1)SU7+ / 14.0(1)SU3+ | IM&P: 12.5(1)SU2+ / 14.0(1)SU2+

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) or IM & Presence Service version using the CLI command 'show version active'
  2. 2. For Unified CM 11.5 installations: upgrade to version 11.5(1)SU9 or later (minimum 11.5(1.10000.9))
  3. 3. For Unified CM 12.5 installations: upgrade to version 12.5(1)SU7 or later (minimum 12.5(1.10000.23))
  4. 4. For Unified CM 14.0 installations: upgrade to version 14.0(1)SU3 or later (minimum 14.0(1.10000.21))
  5. 5. For IM & Presence Service 12.5: upgrade to version 12.5(1)SU2 or later
  6. 6. For IM & Presence Service 14.0: upgrade to version 14.0(1)SU2 (14su2) or later
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the fix by confirming the database user privileges are properly restricted - contact Cisco TAC if verification guidance is needed
  8. 8. Review admin and user credentials as a precautionary measure, since valid credentials were required for exploitation
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for any changes in functionality or compatibility; major version upgrades may require configuration adjustments

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

Fix this in Unified Communications Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2022-20791 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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