dbcve.org
Ios XeOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2023-20029

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Meraki onboarding feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to gain root level privileges on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient memory protection in the Meraki onboarding feature of an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by modifying the Meraki registration parameters. 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 · high confidence

A vulnerability in the Meraki onboarding feature of Cisco IOS XE Software allows an authenticated local attacker to gain root level privileges by modifying Meraki registration parameters. The root cause is insufficient memory protection in the Meraki onboarding feature.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco IOS XE software update from Cisco's security advisory. Limit physical and console access to network devices and follow least-privilege administrative access controls.

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
Ios XeOperating system
Affected:= 17.7.1= 17.8.1

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 IOS XE version
    Execute 'show version' on the device console or via SSH to retrieve the running software version
    Affected if The displayed version is exactly 17.7.1 or exactly 17.8.1
  2. Confirm the software platform
    Verify in the 'show version' output that the platform is running Cisco IOS XE (not classic IOS or other platforms)
    Affected if The platform shows Cisco IOS XE software
  3. Check for Meraki onboarding configuration
    Review the running configuration using 'show running-config' and search for Meraki-related configuration sections such as 'meraki', 'cloud', or onboarding-related parameters
    Affected if Meraki onboarding feature is configured or enabled in the device configuration
  4. Verify Meraki registration parameters
    Examine the configuration for any Meraki-specific registration or cloud connectivity settings that can be modified by an authenticated user
    Affected if Meraki registration parameters are present and can be modified by authenticated local users

The device is affected if it runs Cisco IOS XE version 17.7.1 or 17.8.1 AND has Meraki onboarding feature configured on the system.

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 IOS XE software update from Cisco's security advisory. Limit physical and console access to network devices and follow least-privilege administrative access controls.

Recommended fix High confidence

Cisco IOS XE 17.9.1 or later (17.x train)

  1. 1. Verify the current IOS XE version on the affected device using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Back up the current device configuration using 'copy running-config startup-config' or export via TFTP/FTP
  3. 3. Download the fixed IOS XE release (17.9.1 or later) from Cisco's software download center
  4. 4. Transfer the new IOS XE image to the device using 'copy tftp://<server>/<image> flash:' or USB storage
  5. 5. Configure the device to boot the new image using 'boot system flash:<new-image-name>'
  6. 6. Reload the device using 'reload' command
  7. 7. After reboot, verify the new version is running with 'show version'
  8. 8. Verify Meraki onboarding functionality still works as expected
Caveat Standard IOS XE upgrade risks apply - verify hardware compatibility and review release notes for any configuration changes or deprecated features

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

Fix this in Ios Xe Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
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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-2023-20029 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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