dbcve.org
Ios XeOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2022-20851

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
A vulnerability in the web UI feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform an injection attack against an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted input to the web UI API. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must have valid Administrator 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 confidence

Authenticated command injection vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE web UI API. An attacker with valid Administrator credentials can send crafted input to the web UI API that is not properly validated, allowing execution of arbitrary commands on the underlying OS with root privileges.

MitigationApply Cisco's official patch for this vulnerability. Until then, disable the web UI feature if not required, restrict access via ACLs to trusted management networks only, and ensure strong Administrator credentials.

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
Ios XeOperating system
Affected:= 17.6.1

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 the IOS XE version
    Run 'show version' or 'show version | include Version' to display the running Cisco IOS XE version
    Affected if The displayed version is exactly 17.6.1 (this specific version is affected)
  2. Confirm the product is IOS XE
    Run 'show version' and verify the output indicates Cisco IOS XE (not classic IOS or other platforms)
    Affected if The device runs Cisco IOS XE version 17.6.1 specifically
  3. Check if the web UI is enabled
    Run 'show ip http server status' or 'show running-config | include ip http' to see if the HTTP/HTTPS web UI server is active
    Affected if HTTP or HTTPS server is enabled (the vulnerability requires the web UI API to be accessible)
  4. Verify web UI management access
    Check ACLs or interface configurations for HTTP/HTTPS services using 'show running-config | include http' or review interface IP assignments where web UI is bound
    Affected if The web UI is exposed to untrusted networks or accessible from management interfaces without ACL protection

The environment is affected if the device runs Cisco IOS XE version 17.6.1 AND the web UI (HTTP/HTTPS) feature is enabled and accessible.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Cisco's official patch for this vulnerability. Until then, disable the web UI feature if not required, restrict access via ACLs to trusted management networks only, and ensure strong Administrator credentials.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cisco IOS XE 17.6.2 or later fixed release in the 17.6.x train

  1. 1. Identify the current Cisco IOS XE version running on the affected device using 'show version' command
  2. 2. If the device is running version 17.6.1, plan for an upgrade to a fixed release
  3. 3. Download the fixed Cisco IOS XE software image from Cisco's software download center (software.cisco.com)
  4. 4. Verify the image integrity using the MD5/SHA256 hash provided by Cisco
  5. 5. Upload the new IOS XE image to the device using TFTP, FTP, or SCP
  6. 6. Set the boot variable to point to the new image using 'boot system' command
  7. 7. Reload the device to apply the new IOS XE version
  8. 8. After reboot, verify the new version is running using 'show version'
Caveat Upgrading IOS XE versions may introduce behavioral changes; review Cisco release notes for any configuration compatibility notes before upgrading

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

Fix this in Ios Xe Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2022-20851 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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