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Nexus DashboardApplication · Cisco

CVE-2022-20909

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.2 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Cisco Nexus Dashboard could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges on an affected device. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient input validation during CLI command execution on an affected device. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by authenticating as the rescue-user and executing vulnerable CLI commands using a malicious payload. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root on an 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 · moderate confidence

Insufficient input validation in Cisco Nexus Dashboard CLI command execution allows an authenticated attacker with rescue-user credentials to inject malicious payloads via CLI commands, achieving root privilege escalation on the affected device.

MitigationApply the Cisco vendor patch for Nexus Dashboard when available; until then, limit access to the rescue-user account and monitor CLI command execution logs for suspicious activity.

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
Nexus DashboardApplication
Affected:>= 2.0, < 2.2\(1e\)

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 Cisco Nexus Dashboard installation
    Locate and confirm Cisco Nexus Dashboard is deployed in your environment. Check for the product by reviewing system inventory, network documentation, or consulting with infrastructure teams.
    Affected if Cisco Nexus Dashboard is present in the environment
  2. Check installed Nexus Dashboard version
    Access the Nexus Dashboard admin interface or use the CLI command 'show version' to retrieve the installed version number. Compare this version against the affected range: 2.0 up to but not including 2.2(1e).
    Affected if Installed version is 2.0 or higher, but lower than 2.2(1e)
  3. Verify rescue-user account configuration
    Check if the rescue-user account exists on the Nexus Dashboard system. This can be done by reviewing local user accounts via the CLI command 'show users' or through the administrative interface user management section.
    Affected if The rescue-user account is enabled or exists on the system
  4. Assess CLI access exposure
    Determine if CLI command execution is accessible to the rescue-user account. Review access controls, authentication settings, and network accessibility of the CLI interface.
    Affected if The rescue-user account can execute CLI commands on the Nexus Dashboard

Your environment is affected if Cisco Nexus Dashboard version is 2.0 or higher but below 2.2(1e), the rescue-user account exists, and that account can execute CLI 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 2.2 or later
Fixed in 2.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the Cisco vendor patch for Nexus Dashboard when available; until then, limit access to the rescue-user account and monitor CLI command execution logs for suspicious activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Nexus Dashboard version 2.2(1e) or later

  1. 1. Identify current Nexus Dashboard version by accessing the dashboard admin UI or using CLI: 'show version'
  2. 2. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade (this is a system-critical upgrade)
  3. 3. Back up current configuration and data following Cisco best practices
  4. 4. Download Nexus Dashboard version 2.2(1e) or later from Cisco.com (requires valid service contract)
  5. 5. Upload the upgrade bundle to the Nexus Dashboard
  6. 6. Execute the upgrade following Cisco's official upgrade procedure for Nexus Dashboard
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version: 'show version'
  8. 8. Confirm the fix by verifying the running version is >= 2.2(1e)
Caveat Review Cisco Nexus Dashboard 2.2 release notes for any compatibility or migration considerations before upgrading

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

Fix this in Nexus Dashboard Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

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-2022-20909 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