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Ip Phone 7811 FirmwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2022-20968

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
93/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
No privileges 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 Cisco Discovery Protocol processing feature of Cisco IP Phone 7800 and 8800 Series firmware could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a stack overflow on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of received Cisco Discovery Protocol packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol traffic to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a stack overflow, resulting in possible remote code execution or a denial of service (DoS) condition 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

A stack overflow vulnerability exists in the Cisco Discovery Protocol processing of Cisco IP Phone 7800 and 8800 Series firmware. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation of received CDP packets, allowing an unauthenticated adjacent attacker to send crafted CDP traffic that triggers the overflow. Successful exploitation could enable remote code execution or cause a denial of service condition on affected devices.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided firmware update for Cisco IP Phone 7800 and 8800 Series. Until patched, limit physical/adjacent network access to reduce attack surface.

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
Ip Phone 7811 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 9.3\(3\)= 9.3\(4\)= 9.3\(4\)sr1= 9.3\(4\)sr2= 9.3\(4\)sr3= 10.1\(1\)sr1= 10.1\(1\)sr2= 10.1\(1.9\)= 10.2\(1\)= 10.2\(1\)sr1= 10.2\(2\)= 10.3\(1\)
Ip Phone 7821 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 9.3\(3\)= 9.3\(4\)= 9.3\(4\)sr1= 9.3\(4\)sr2= 9.3\(4\)sr3= 10.1\(1\)sr1= 10.1\(1\)sr2= 10.1\(1.9\)= 10.2\(1\)= 10.2\(1\)sr1= 10.2\(2\)= 10.3\(1\)
Ip Phone 7832 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 9.3\(3\)= 9.3\(4\)= 9.3\(4\)sr1= 9.3\(4\)sr2= 9.3\(4\)sr3= 10.1\(1\)sr1= 10.1\(1\)sr2= 10.1\(1.9\)= 10.2\(1\)= 10.2\(1\)sr1= 10.2\(2\)= 10.3\(1\)
Ip Phone 7841 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 9.3\(3\)= 9.3\(4\)= 9.3\(4\)sr1= 9.3\(4\)sr2= 9.3\(4\)sr3= 10.1\(1\)sr1= 10.1\(1\)sr2= 10.1\(1.9\)= 10.2\(1\)= 10.2\(1\)sr1= 10.2\(2\)= 10.3\(1\)
Ip Phone 7861 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 9.3\(3\)= 9.3\(4\)= 9.3\(4\)sr1= 9.3\(4\)sr2= 9.3\(4\)sr3= 10.1\(1\)sr1= 10.1\(1\)sr2= 10.1\(1.9\)= 10.2\(1\)= 10.2\(1\)sr1= 10.2\(2\)= 10.3\(1\)
Ip Phone 8811 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 9.3\(3\)= 9.3\(4\)= 9.3\(4\)sr1= 9.3\(4\)sr2= 9.3\(4\)sr3= 10.1\(1\)sr1= 10.1\(1\)sr2= 10.1\(1.9\)= 10.2\(1\)= 10.2\(1\)sr1= 10.2\(2\)= 10.3\(1\)
Ip Phone 8831 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 9.3\(3\)= 9.3\(4\)= 9.3\(4\)sr1= 9.3\(4\)sr2= 9.3\(4\)sr3= 10.1\(1\)sr1= 10.1\(1\)sr2= 10.1\(1.9\)= 10.2\(1\)= 10.2\(1\)sr1= 10.2\(2\)= 10.3\(1\)
Ip Phone 8832 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 9.3\(3\)= 9.3\(4\)= 9.3\(4\)sr1= 9.3\(4\)sr2= 9.3\(4\)sr3= 10.1\(1\)sr1= 10.1\(1\)sr2= 10.1\(1.9\)= 10.2\(1\)= 10.2\(1\)sr1= 10.2\(2\)= 10.3\(1\)

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/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 phone model
    Access the phone's web interface, admin menu, or display the device info screen to determine the exact model number (7811, 7821, 7832, 7841, 7861, 8811, 8831, or 8832).
    Affected if The device is NOT one of these eight models.
  2. Check the firmware version
    Navigate to Settings > Status > Firmware Version on the phone, or access the web interface admin page to view the installed firmware version.
    Affected if The installed version matches one of these: 9.3(3), 9.3(4), 9.3(4)sr1, 9.3(4)sr2, 9.3(4)sr3, 10.1(1)sr1, 10.1(1)sr2, 10.1(1.9), 10.2(1), 10.2(1)sr1, 10.2(2), 10.3(1).
  3. Verify CDP processing is enabled
    Check the phone's network settings or admin menu for Cisco Discovery Protocol status. CDP is typically enabled by default on Cisco phones.
    Affected if CDP is enabled and the device is processing CDP packets from the network.

A device is affected if it is one of the eight listed phone models, runs one of the twelve specific firmware versions listed, and has CDP enabled to process incoming Cisco Discovery Protocol packets.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided firmware update for Cisco IP Phone 7800 and 8800 Series. Until patched, limit physical/adjacent network access to reduce attack surface.

Fix this in Ip Phone 7811 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2022-20968 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