Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco
CVE-2023-20021
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 specific Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) CLI commands could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform command injection attacks on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. To exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker must have valid Administrator privileges on the affected device. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by submitting a crafted CLI command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root.
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 confidenceThis is a command injection vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) CLI where insufficient input validation in specific CLI commands allows an authenticated Administrator to inject arbitrary OS commands and escalate privileges to root.
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
Identity Services EngineApplication
= 3.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Cisco ISE installationLocate the ISE installation directory or check running services for 'Cisco ISE' or 'ise' processes on the systemAffected if The system runs Cisco Identity Services Engine software
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Verify ISE version is 3.2Check the installed ISE version by logging into the ISE admin UI and navigating to Administration > System > About Cisco ISE, or run 'show version' in the ISE CLIAffected if The installed version is exactly 3.2 (no patch applied)
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Confirm CLI administrative access is enabledCheck if the ISE CLI is accessible and Administrator accounts have CLI privileges via Administration > Administrators > Admin Users in the ISE UI, or by attempting CLI access with an admin accountAffected if Administrator-level CLI access is available and configured
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Inspect for signs of command injection or privilege escalationReview ISE CLI command history (run 'show history' or check system logs), examine /opt directory for unexpected scripts, and check system logs for suspicious commands or unexpected root-level processesAffected if Unfamiliar commands in history, unexpected scripts in system directories, or unauthorized root-level processes are found
The environment is affected if Cisco ISE version 3.2 is running with CLI administrative access enabled, and either exploitation indicators are present or the system remains unpatched against CVE-2023-20021.
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.
From vendor dataApply Cisco's security patches for CVE-2023-20021 to the affected ISE installation; restrict Administrator CLI access and monitor for suspicious command patterns until patched.
Fix this in Identity Services Engine
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20021 — 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-2023-20021 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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