Secure Firewall Management CenterApplication · Cisco
CVE-2023-20005
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 · uneditedMultiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against a user of the interface of an affected device. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input by the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by inserting crafted input into various data fields in an affected interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary script code in the context of the interface, or access sensitive, browser-based information. In some cases, it is also possible to cause a temporary availability impact to portions of the FMC Dashboard.
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 confidenceStored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Cisco Firepower Management Center web-based management interface due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker can inject malicious script into data fields, achieving arbitrary code execution in the user's browser context or accessing sensitive browser-based information, with potential temporary availability impact to the FMC Dashboard.
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
Secure Firewall Management CenterApplication
>= 6.2.3, <= 6.2.3.18>= 6.4.0, <= 6.4.0.16>= 6.6.0, <= 6.6.7.1>= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.5>= 7.1.0, <= 7.1.0.3>= 7.2.0, <= 7.2.3.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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.
-
Determine the installed FMC versionLog into the FMC CLI and run the command 'show version' or access the web interface and navigate to Help > About to view the software version.Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 6.2.3 to 6.2.3.18, 6.4.0 to 6.4.0.16, 6.6.0 to 6.6.7.1, 7.0.0 to 7.0.5, 7.1.0 to 7.1.0.3, or 7.2.0 to 7.2.3.1.
-
Verify the web-based management interface is enabledConfirm that the FMC web interface is accessible by attempting to reach the management console via HTTPS on port 443.Affected if The web interface is accessible and the version is within the affected ranges listed above.
-
Identify user roles with access to input fieldsReview FMC user roles and permissions in the web interface under System > Users > User Management to determine which roles can create or modify objects, policies, or dashboard widgets that accept user-supplied input.Affected if Any user role with write access to data fields in the FMC interface is present and the FMC version is vulnerable.
-
Check for existing malicious scripts in FMC data fieldsReview stored configuration objects, custom dashboard widgets, and policy objects via the web interface for any unexpected script tags or encoded characters in text fields.Affected if Unexpected script tags or HTML entities are found stored in FMC configuration fields.
You are affected if the FMC version is within any of the listed version ranges and the web management interface is enabled with users who can modify data fields.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply Cisco's official patch for FMC when available; implement proper input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data fields in the web interface to prevent XSS attacks.
Upgrade to the next available maintenance release beyond the listed vulnerable versions: 6.2.3.19+, 6.4.0.17+, 6.6.8+, or 7.0.6+
- Identify the currently installed Cisco Firepower Management Center version via the web interface (Help > About) or CLI (show version)
- Determine which version branch you are currently running (6.2.3.x, 6.4.0.x, 6.6.0.x, or 7.0.x)
- For version 6.2.3.x: upgrade to version 6.2.3.19 or later
- For version 6.4.0.x: upgrade to version 6.4.0.17 or later
- For version 6.6.0.x: upgrade to version 6.6.8 or later
- For version 7.0.x: upgrade to version 7.0.6 or later
- After upgrade, verify the fix by checking Cisco FMC release notes for CVE-2023-20005
- Review and test critical workflows in the FMC web interface post-upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Secure Firewall Management Center
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 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 $7,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20005 — 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-2023-20005 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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