dbcve.org
Ios Xe Sd WanOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2023-20035

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 CLI of Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation by the system CLI. An attacker with privileges to run commands could exploit this vulnerability by first authenticating to an affected device using either local terminal access or a management shell interface and then submitting crafted input to the system CLI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system with root-level privileges. An attacker with limited user privileges could use this vulnerability to gain complete control over the system. Note: For additional information about specific impacts, see the Details section of this advisory.

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

Command injection vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software CLI where authenticated attackers can submit crafted input that bypasses insufficient input validation, allowing arbitrary OS command execution with root-level privileges.

MitigationRestrict CLI and management shell access to trusted, authorized users only; apply Cisco's official patch when available; monitor for suspicious command 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
Ios Xe Sd WanOperating 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
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 if the device runs Cisco IOS XE with SD-WAN
    Execute 'show version' and look for 'IOS XE' in the software banner, then run 'show sdwan version' or 'show sdwan control connections' to confirm SD-WAN feature is present
    Affected if The device shows both IOS XE and SD-WAN capabilities in the command output
  2. Confirm CLI access is available
    Attempt to access the CLI via console, SSH, or management interface and verify you can enter privileged EXEC mode with 'enable' command
    Affected if CLI access is granted to any authenticated user, indicating the attack surface exists
  3. Check for unauthorized or unexpected commands in SD-WAN CLI history
    Review command history via 'show history' within SD-WAN CLI mode, or check system logs with 'show logging' for suspicious command patterns involving shell execution or unusual privilege escalation
    Affected if Commands observed contain shell operators (such as ';', '|', '$', or backticks) or commands outside normal SD-WAN operations
  4. Inspect for signs of root-level command execution
    Run 'show sdwan software' or 'show sdwan system status' and compare against known-good baselines; also review 'show processes cpu history' for unusual activity
    Affected if Processes or software states indicate execution of commands that should not be issued through SD-WAN CLI

A user is affected if their Cisco IOS XE device has SD-WAN functionality enabled and CLI access is available to authenticated attackers, regardless of version since all versions are vulnerable.

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

Restrict CLI and management shell access to trusted, authorized users only; apply Cisco's official patch when available; monitor for suspicious command activity.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Obtain the specific fixed release from Cisco's security advisory for CVE-2023-20035 - check sec.cloudapps.cisco.com for the exact version number

  1. Check the Cisco Security Advisory (sec.cloudapps.cisco.com) for this CVE to identify the specific fixed release version
  2. Contact Cisco TAC or access the Cisco software download page to obtain the fixed IOS XE SD-WAN release
  3. Plan the upgrade during a maintenance window as the device may require a reload
  4. Back up the current device configuration before performing the upgrade
  5. Upload the new IOS XE SD-WAN software image to the device
  6. Verify the image integrity using the checksum provided by Cisco
  7. Reload the device to apply the new software version
  8. After reboot, verify the device is functioning correctly and the vulnerability is resolved by confirming the new software version is running
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for any feature changes or migration considerations specific to your deployment; SD-WAN upgrades may require controller coordination

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

Fix this in Ios Xe Sd Wan Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2023-20035 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