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Ucs Central SoftwareApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20015

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.0 / 4.1 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 CLI of Cisco Firepower 4100 Series, Cisco Firepower 9300 Security Appliances, and Cisco UCS 6200, 6300, 6400, and 6500 Series Fabric Interconnects could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject unauthorized commands. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of commands supplied by the user. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to a device and submitting crafted input to the affected command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute unauthorized commands within the CLI. An attacker with Administrator privileges could also execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of Cisco UCS 6400 and 6500 Series Fabric Interconnects with root-level privileges.

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 command injection vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Firepower 4100/9300 series and UCS Fabric Interconnects. An authenticated local attacker can inject unauthorized commands due to insufficient input validation of user-supplied CLI arguments. On UCS 6400 and 6500 Series, an attacker with Administrator privileges can escalate to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying OS with root-level privileges.

MitigationApply the Cisco security update for CVE-2023-20015. Restrict CLI access to trusted Administrator accounts only until the patch is 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
Ucs Central SoftwareApplication
Affected:>= 4.0, < 4.0\(4o\)>= 4.1, < 4.1\(3k\)>= 4.2, < 4.2\(2d\)
Ucs 6536 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ucs 64108 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ucs 6454 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ucs 6200 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ucs 6248up FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ucs 6296up FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ucs 6300 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 Cisco UCS device model
    Log into the UCS Manager or check the hardware chassis label to determine if the device is a UCS 6200, 6248up, 6296up, 6300, 6400, 6454, 6500, 6536, or 64108 series, or a Firepower 4100/9300 series appliance.
    Affected if The device model matches one of these: UCS 6200, 6248up, 6296up, 6300, 6400, 6454, 6500, 6536, 64108, or Firepower 4100/9300.
  2. Check the installed firmware or software version
    In UCS Manager, navigate to Equipment > Firmware or use 'show version' in the CLI. For Cisco UCS Central, use 'show version' in the CLI. Compare the version number against the affected ranges: UCS Central 4.0 < 4.0(4o), 4.1 < 4.1(3k), 4.2 < 4.2(2d). For UCS 6536, 64108, 6454, 6200, 6248up, 6296up, 6300 firmware, all versions are affected.
    Affected if The firmware version is lower than 4.0(4o), 4.1(3k), or 4.2(2d) for UCS Central, OR the firmware is any version for UCS 6536, 64108, 6454, 6200, 6248up, 6296up, or 6300 series.
  3. Verify CLI access is enabled and accessible
    Confirm that the command-line interface is accessible on the device. Check if SSH, console, or local CLI access is configured and operational.
    Affected if CLI access is enabled and the device can be accessed via SSH, console, or local terminal.
  4. Confirm authenticated user access exists
    Review user accounts configured in UCS Manager or UCS Central that have CLI privileges. Check for any local user accounts with read-write or Administrator rights.
    Affected if There is any local user account with authenticated CLI access, particularly Administrator-level privileges on UCS 6400 or 6500 Series.

Your environment is affected if you are running a Cisco UCS device (6200, 6248up, 6296up, 6300, 6400, 6454, 6500, 6536, 64108) or Firepower 4100/9300 with a vulnerable firmware/software version and CLI access is available to any authenticated user.

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 4.0 / 4.1 / 4.2 or later
Fixed in 4.04.14.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the Cisco security update for CVE-2023-20015. Restrict CLI access to trusted Administrator accounts only until the patch is deployed.

Recommended fix High confidence

UCS Central Software: 4.0(4o), 4.1(3k), or 4.2(2d) respectively; UCS Fabric Interconnects: Contact Cisco TAC for firmware fix

  1. 1. Identify the specific Cisco UCS model in your environment from the affected product list (UCS 6200, 6300, 6400, 6500 Series Fabric Interconnects, or UCS Central Software)
  2. 2. For UCS Central Software: Determine your current version using 'show version' command
  3. 3. For UCS Central Software versions >= 4.0 and < 4.0(4o): Plan upgrade to version 4.0(4o) or later
  4. 4. For UCS Central Software versions >= 4.1 and < 4.1(3k): Plan upgrade to version 4.1(3k) or later
  5. 5. For UCS Central Software versions >= 4.2 and < 4.2(2d): Plan upgrade to version 4.2(2d) or later
  6. 6. For UCS Fabric Interconnects (6200, 6300, 6400, 6500 series): Contact Cisco TAC for the specific firmware version that addresses this vulnerability
  7. 7. Download the appropriate fixed firmware/software from the Cisco Software Download Center (requires valid CCO ID and service contract)
  8. 8. Follow Cisco's standard upgrade procedure for your specific platform - typically via 'install' command in NX-OS for Fabric Interconnects
Caveat Standard Cisco UCS upgrade procedures apply - ensure valid backups and maintenance window are in place before upgrading production systems

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

Fix this in Ucs Central Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2023-20015 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data