dbcve.org
AsyncosOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2022-20871

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 management interface of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Secure Web Appliance, formerly Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA), could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform a command injection and elevate privileges to root. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input for the web interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to the system and sending a crafted HTTP packet to the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. To successfully exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need at least read-only credentials.Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.Attention: Simplifying the Cisco portfolio includes the renaming of security products under one brand: Cisco Secure. For more information, see .

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

A command injection vulnerability exists in the web management interface of Cisco AsyncOS for Secure Web Appliance. An authenticated attacker with at least read-only credentials can send crafted HTTP packets containing malicious input that gets executed by the underlying operating system with root privileges due to insufficient input validation.

MitigationApply the Cisco software update/upgrade to a version that addresses this vulnerability. No workarounds are available.

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
AsyncosOperating system
Affected:= 12.5.1-011= 12.5.2-007= 12.5.2-011= 12.5.3-002= 12.5.4-005= 12.5.4-011= 14.0.2-012= 14.1.0-032= 14.1.0-041= 14.1.0-047= 14.5.0-498

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 device as Cisco Secure Web Appliance
    Check the device model number or login to the web interface and look for the product name in the header or about section
    Affected if The device is a Cisco Secure Web Appliance (formerly Cisco Web Security Appliance) or Cisco AsyncOS device
  2. Check the AsyncOS version
    Log into the web management interface and navigate to System Administration > Software Update or use the CLI command 'version' to display the installed AsyncOS version and build number
    Affected if The installed AsyncOS build matches one of these: 12.5.1-011, 12.5.2-007, 12.5.2-011, 12.5.3-002, 12.5.4-005, 12.5.4-011, 14.0.2-012, 14.1.0-032, 14.1.0-041, 14.1.0-047, or 14.5.0-498
  3. Confirm web management interface is enabled
    In the web interface, go to Network > Interfaces or System Administration > Administration and verify that the HTTP or HTTPS web management interface is configured and active
    Affected if The web management interface is enabled and accessible on any HTTP/HTTPS port
  4. Check for existing admin or read-only accounts
    Navigate to System Administration > User Management in the web interface to list all configured local user accounts
    Affected if There are any local user accounts with administrative or read-only privileges configured on the appliance

You are affected if this is a Cisco Secure Web Appliance running any of the listed AsyncOS builds with the web management interface enabled and at least one local user account present.

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 the Cisco software update/upgrade to a version that addresses this vulnerability. No workarounds are available.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to the fixed AsyncOS release (consult Cisco advisory for specific version for each affected release: 12.5.1-011, 12.5.2-007, 12.5.2-011, 12.5.3-002)

  1. 1. Identify the current AsyncOS version installed on the Cisco Secure Web Appliance (formerly WSA) via the web management interface or CLI (show version command)
  2. 2. Navigate to the Cisco Security Advisories page (sec.cloudapps.cisco.com) and locate CVE-2022-20871
  3. 3. Download and review the corresponding Cisco Secure Web Appliance security advisory for this CVE
  4. 4. Obtain the recommended fixed AsyncOS version from the advisory (typically a later minor release than the affected versions listed)
  5. 5. Plan an upgrade window and ensure you have a backup configuration
  6. 6. Upload the new AsyncOS upgrade bundle via the web interface (System Administration > System Upgrade) or CLI
  7. 7. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade process
  8. 8. After reboot, verify the new AsyncOS version is installed and confirm the vulnerability is resolved
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for potential compatibility or configuration changes between versions before upgrading

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

Fix this in Asyncos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2022-20871 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