Broadworks Application Delivery Platform Device ManagementApplication · Cisco
CVE-2023-20020
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 Device Management Servlet application of Cisco BroadWorks Application Delivery Platform and Cisco BroadWorks Xtended Services Platform could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper input validation when parsing HTTP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a sustained stream of crafted requests to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause all subsequent requests to be dropped, 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 confidenceA denial of service vulnerability in the Device Management Servlet of Cisco BroadWorks Application Delivery Platform and Xtended Services Platform. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation when parsing HTTP requests, allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker to send crafted requests that cause all subsequent legitimate requests to be dropped.
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
Broadworks Application Delivery Platform Device ManagementApplication
>= 22.0, < 2022.11_1.273
Broadworks Xtended Services PlatformApplication
>= 22.0, < 23.0.1075.ap384245CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Cisco BroadWorks product installationLocate the Cisco BroadWorks Application Delivery Platform (ADP) or Xtended Services Platform (XSP) installation in your environment. Check system inventory or documentation for these product names.Affected if Neither BroadWorks ADP nor XSP is installed in your environment, then you are not affected.
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Determine installed version of BroadWorks ADP Device ManagementAccess the device management interface or check system configuration files for the version number of Cisco BroadWorks Application Delivery Platform Device Management component.Affected if The installed version is 22.0 or higher but lower than 2022.11_1.273, indicating the system is vulnerable.
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Determine installed version of BroadWorks Xtended Services PlatformAccess the XSP management interface or check system configuration files for the version number of Cisco BroadWorks Xtended Services Platform.Affected if The installed version is 22.0 or higher but lower than 23.0.1075.ap384245, indicating the system is vulnerable.
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Verify Device Management Servlet is exposedCheck network configuration to determine if the Device Management Servlet HTTP interface is accessible from network segments where untrusted users could send requests. Look for exposed HTTP/HTTPS listeners on the device management port.Affected if The Device Management Servlet is externally accessible without authentication, increasing exposure to unauthenticated attackers.
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Review request logs for anomaliesExamine HTTP access logs for the Device Management Servlet for patterns of malformed requests followed by legitimate requests being dropped or rejected. Look for spikes in failed or rejected request patterns.Affected if Logs show legitimate requests being dropped after certain malformed request patterns, potentially indicating exploitation.
Your environment is affected if you have Cisco BroadWorks ADP (version >= 22.0 and < 2022.11_1.273) or XSP (version >= 22.0 and < 23.0.1075.ap384245) with the Device Management Servlet exposed to untrusted networks.
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 · scoped23.0.1075.ap3842452022.11_1.273
Apply Cisco security patches for CVE-2023-20020 when available; consider rate limiting or WAF rules to mitigate sustained HTTP request attacks until patches can be applied.
BroadWorks ADP: upgrade to 2022.11_1.273 or later; BroadWorks XSP: upgrade to 23.0.1075.ap384245 or later
- Identify which Broadworks product is deployed: BroadWorks Application Delivery Platform (ADP) Device Management or BroadWorks Xtended Services Platform (XSP)
- For BroadWorks Application Delivery Platform Device Management: Upgrade to version 2022.11_1.273 or later
- For BroadWorks Xtended Services Platform: Upgrade to version 23.0.1075.ap384245 or later
- After upgrade, verify the Device Management Servlet is operational and monitor for normal request processing
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Broadworks Application Delivery Platform Device Management
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20020 — 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-2023-20020 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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