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Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20023

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Multiple 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 confidence

Multiple command injection vulnerabilities exist in specific Cisco ISE CLI commands that fail to properly validate user-supplied input. An authenticated attacker with Administrator privileges can submit crafted CLI commands to execute arbitrary operating system commands with root privileges on the underlying Linux system.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco ISE software update when available; until then, restrict Administrator access to only trusted personnel and monitor CLI command usage for suspicious activity.

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
Affected:= 3.2

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 if Cisco ISE is present
    Check for Cisco ISE installation by running 'show version' in the CLI or logging into the ISE Admin web interface and navigating to Administration > System > Settings > Server Certificate to confirm the product
    Affected if Cisco Identity Services Engine software is not installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed Cisco ISE version
    In the ISE CLI, run the command 'show version' and locate the version number in the output. Alternatively, log into the ISE Admin portal and go to Administration > System > Deployment to view the version
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 3.2 (CVE lists = 3.2 as affected)
  3. Verify Administrator CLI access exists
    In the ISE Admin portal, navigate to Administration > System > Admin Access > Administrators > Admin Users and review which admin users have CLI access permissions enabled. Alternatively, use 'show running-config | include admin' in the CLI
    Affected if Any Administrator-level user account has CLI access enabled and the account credentials could be obtained by an attacker
  4. Check for recent suspicious CLI activity
    Review ISE CLI command history logs and system logs for unexpected or crafted commands. Run 'show logins last 24 hours' and check system logs for unusual command execution patterns
    Affected if There is evidence of unexpected CLI commands or command injection attempts in the logs

You are affected if Cisco ISE version 3.2 is installed AND an attacker could obtain Administrator-level credentials with CLI access.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the relevant Cisco ISE software update when available; until then, restrict Administrator access to only trusted personnel and monitor CLI command usage for suspicious activity.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cisco ISE 3.2 with relevant patch or Cisco ISE 3.3+ (contact Cisco for exact fixed version)

  1. 1. Log into the Cisco ISE administrator web interface or access CLI as Administrator.
  2. 2. Navigate to the Administration > System > Backup & Restore page to ensure you have a current backup of your ISE configuration.
  3. 3. Contact Cisco Technical Support or check the Cisco ISE security advisory at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com for the specific patch for CVE-2023-20023.
  4. 4. Apply the relevant patches for Cisco ISE version 3.2 or upgrade to a fixed release as specified in the advisory.
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify that Administrator CLI commands execute normally and confirm the vulnerability is remediated.
Caveat Review Cisco ISE release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes between 3.2 and target version before upgrading

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

Fix this in Identity Services Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2023-20023 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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