dbcve.org
Nexus DashboardApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20014

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 DNS functionality of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to the improper processing of DNS requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a continuous stream of DNS requests to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the coredns service to stop working or cause the device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition.

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 confidence

A vulnerability in the DNS (coredns) service of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Software allows unauthenticated remote attackers to cause denial of service by sending a continuous stream of malicious DNS requests. The improper processing of these requests causes either the coredns service to fail or the entire device to reload.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Cisco for Nexus Dashboard Software. As a compensating control, implement network-level rate limiting or ACLs to restrict DNS traffic from untrusted sources until the patch can be deployed.

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:< 2.3\(1c\)

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 Cisco Nexus Dashboard installation
    Confirm the system is running Cisco Nexus Dashboard software. Check the product model and software version via the CLI command 'show version' or through the Nexus Dashboard web interface under Administration > System Settings > Software Updates.
    Affected if The device is not Cisco Nexus Dashboard, this CVE does not apply.
  2. Verify the installed software version
    Run 'show version' on the Nexus Dashboard CLI or check the version displayed in the web interface. Compare the version number against 2.3(1c).
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 2.3(1c) - for example, 2.2(x), 2.1(x), or 2.0(x) releases are affected.
  3. Confirm coredns service is accessible
    Check if the DNS service port (UDP/TCP port 53) is reachable on the Nexus Dashboard management or data interfaces. Use 'show network connectivity' or review the interface configurations to determine if coredns is exposed to network traffic.
    Affected if The coredns service is network-accessible from untrusted sources - the vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to send malicious DNS requests.
  4. Check if DNS service is enabled
    Review the Nexus Dashboard service status using 'show service' or check the DNS service configuration. The vulnerability affects the coredns service specifically.
    Affected if The coredns DNS service is enabled and running on the device.

You are affected if your Cisco Nexus Dashboard runs version lower than 2.3(1c) and has the coredns service enabled and network-accessible.

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 2.3 or later
Fixed in 2.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Cisco for Nexus Dashboard Software. As a compensating control, implement network-level rate limiting or ACLs to restrict DNS traffic from untrusted sources until the patch can be deployed.

Recommended fix High confidence

Cisco Nexus Dashboard 2.3(1c) or later

  1. Verify current Nexus Dashboard version using the CLI command 'show version' or via the UI dashboard
  2. Download Cisco Nexus Dashboard software version 2.3(1c) or later from the Cisco Software Download Center
  3. Plan upgrade during maintenance window as upgrade will cause brief service interruption
  4. Upload the new image via Nexus Dashboard UI (Administration > Software Management) or CLI
  5. Follow Cisco upgrade procedures to install version 2.3(1c) or later
  6. After upgrade, verify the coredns service is running using 'show process name coredns' and confirm DNS functionality
Caveat Standard upgrade precautions apply - ensure backups exist and plan for brief service interruption during upgrade window

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

Fix this in Nexus Dashboard Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,544.

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-2023-20014 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