Industrial Network DirectorApplication · Cisco
CVE-2023-20039
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 Cisco IND could allow an authenticated, local attacker to read application data. This vulnerability is due to insufficient default file permissions that are applied to the application data directory. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by accessing files in the application data directory. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to view sensitive information. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
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 vulnerability in Cisco IND (likely Industrial) results from insufficient default file permissions applied to the application data directory. An authenticated local attacker with standard user privileges can access and read sensitive application data files that should be restricted. The attack requires local access but no elevated privileges, exploiting overly permissive default ACLs on the data directory.
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
Industrial Network DirectorApplication
< 1.11.3CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Confirm Cisco Industrial Network Director is installedLocate the Cisco IND installation directory or check system services for 'cisco-ind' or 'industrial-network-director' processesAffected if The software is present on the system
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Determine the installed versionUse the application's built-in version command, check the about page in the web interface, or inspect version files in the installation directoryAffected if The version is lower than 1.11.3 (for example, 1.10.x, 1.9.x, etc.)
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Identify the application data directoryLocate the default data directory where Cisco IND stores application files - typically found in the installation path under a 'data' or 'application-data' subdirectoryAffected if The data directory exists and contains application files
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Check file permissions on the data directoryUse operating system commands (such as 'icacls' on Windows or 'ls -la' on Linux) to examine the Access Control List (ACL) permissions on the application data directory and its contentsAffected if Standard (non-privileged) user accounts have read access to sensitive files that should be restricted
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Verify standard user access to sensitive filesAs a standard (non-admin) user attempt to read or list files in the application data directory that should be restricted (such as configuration files, credentials, or database files)Affected if A standard user account can successfully access files that should require elevated privileges
A system is affected if Cisco Industrial Network Director version is below 1.11.3 AND the application data directory has overly permissive ACLs allowing standard users to read restricted files.
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 · scoped1.11.3
Apply the Cisco software update that corrects default file permissions on the application data directory. Since no workarounds exist, patching is the only remediation path.
Cisco Industrial Network Director 1.11.3
- 1. Identify the current version of Cisco Industrial Network Director by accessing the administration console or running the appropriate CLI command
- 2. Create a full backup of the current IND configuration and application data
- 3. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade process
- 4. Download Cisco Industrial Network Director version 1.11.3 or later from the Cisco software download center
- 5. Follow Cisco's standard upgrade procedure for IND - typically via the web interface or CLI using the upgrade command
- 6. After upgrade completes, verify the new version is 1.11.3 or later
- 7. Confirm the application is functioning correctly and all services are running
- 8. Verify file permissions on the application data directory are now properly restricted (default should be owner-only access)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Industrial Network Director
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $2,512.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20039 — 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-2023-20039 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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