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Aci Multi Site OrchestratorApplication · Cisco

CVE-2022-20921

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.1 or later.
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 API implementation of Cisco ACI Multi-Site Orchestrator (MSO) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privileges on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper authorization on specific APIs. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests. A successful exploit could allow an attacker who is authenticated with non-Administrator privileges to elevate to Administrator privileges 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

This is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco ACI Multi-Site Orchestrator where specific API endpoints lack proper authorization checks. An authenticated user with non-Administrator privileges can send crafted HTTP requests to bypass role-based access controls and gain Administrator-level access on the affected device.

MitigationApply the vendor patch when available. Until then, restrict API access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious privilege escalation attempts.

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
Aci Multi Site OrchestratorApplication
Affected:< 3.1\(1n\)

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 Cisco ACI Multi-Site Orchestrator version
    Locate the installed version of the Cisco ACI Multi-Site Orchestrator software in your environment
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 3.1(1n)
  2. Confirm API endpoints are accessible
    Verify that the API functionality is enabled and exposed on the affected device
    Affected if API endpoints are accessible to authenticated users
  3. Review user role assignments
    Check the user accounts configured in the Orchestrator and identify accounts with non-Administrator privileges
    Affected if There are authenticated users with non-Administrator roles who have API access
  4. Inspect for authorization bypass indicators
    Review API access logs for requests from non-Administrator users accessing administrative endpoints
    Affected if Non-Administrator accounts are able to access administrative API functions

Your environment is affected if the Cisco ACI Multi-Site Orchestrator version is below 3.1(1n) and non-Administrator users have API access to the device.

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 3.1 or later
Fixed in 3.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch when available. Until then, restrict API access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious privilege escalation attempts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

3.1(1n) or later

  1. 1. Back up the current Cisco ACI Multi-Site Orchestrator configuration.
  2. 2. Ensure adequate downtime window for the upgrade procedure.
  3. 3. Obtain Cisco ACI Multi-Site Orchestrator version 3.1(1n) or later from Cisco.
  4. 4. Follow Cisco's standard upgrade documentation for MSO, which typically involves accessing the MSO admin UI, navigating to the upgrade section, and applying the new version.
  5. 5. After upgrade completes, verify the MSO is operational.
  6. 6. Confirm the version upgrade was successful by checking the MSO admin interface for the running version.

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

Fix this in Aci Multi Site Orchestrator 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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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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-2022-20921 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