Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco
CVE-2022-20964
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to inject arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user input within requests as part of the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by manipulating requests to the web-based management interface to contain operating system commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the underlying operating system with the privileges of the web services user. Cisco has not yet released software updates that address 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 confidenceAuthenticated command injection in Cisco ISE web-based management interface due to improper user input validation. An attacker with valid credentials can manipulate web interface requests to execute arbitrary OS commands with web services user privileges.
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
Identity Services EngineApplication
< 2.6.0= 2.6.0= 2.7.0= 3.0.0= 3.1= 3.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Cisco ISE versionLog into the Cisco ISE CLI and run 'show version' or access the web UI and navigate to Administration > System > Settings to locate the version informationAffected if The installed version matches < 2.6.0, = 2.6.0, = 2.7.0, = 3.0.0, = 3.1, or = 3.2
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Confirm web-based management interface is enabledAccess the Cisco ISE admin portal via HTTPS (default port 443) or check via CLI: 'show running-config | include http' to see if the web interface is configuredAffected if The web-based management interface is accessible and responds to authentication requests
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Review admin activity logs for suspicious commandsIn Cisco ISE web UI, go to Operations > RADIUS > Live Logs or Administration > Logging > Audit Log Viewer. Search for entries with unusual command patterns, especially from admin accounts executing system commandsAffected if Logs show unexpected command executions, particularly shell commands or system operations that were not initiated by authorized administrators
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Check for unexpected processes or newly created filesAccess the Cisco ISE CLI and run 'show process cpu history' or 'show processes memory' to identify unusual processes. Use 'dir /recursive' to check for newly created scripts or executables in unexpected directoriesAffected if Unfamiliar processes are running as the 'ise' or 'guest' user, or unexpected script files exist in system directories
You are affected if Cisco ISE version is 2.6.0, 2.7.0, 3.0.0, 3.1, or 3.2 (or any version below 2.6.0) AND the web-based management interface is accessible and exposed to network users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor data2.6.0
Implement network access controls to limit web management interface exposure; consider web application firewall rules to detect and block command injection patterns; monitor for indicators of compromise until Cisco releases official patch.
Fix this in Identity Services Engine
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20964 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20964 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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