Catalyst CenterApplication · Cisco
CVE-2023-20059
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 the implementation of the Cisco Network Plug-and-Play (PnP) agent of Cisco DNA Center could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to view sensitive information in clear text. The attacker must have valid low-privileged user credentials. This vulnerability is due to improper role-based access control (RBAC) with the integration of PnP. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to the device and sending a query to an internal API. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to view sensitive information in clear text, which could include configuration files.
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 confidenceImproper role-based access control (RBAC) in Cisco DNA Center's Network Plug-and-Play (PnP) agent allows authenticated low-privileged users to query an internal API and view sensitive information (including configuration files) in clear text.
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
Catalyst CenterApplication
< 2.3.3.7>= 2.3.4.0, < 2.3.5.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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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Determine Cisco DNA Center versionLog into the DNA Center admin GUI and navigate to the System > Settings > About page, or use the CLI command 'show version' via SSH to retrieve the installed software versionAffected if The installed version is less than 2.3.3.7, or falls between 2.3.4.0 (inclusive) and 2.3.5.0 (exclusive)
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Verify Network Plug-and-Play service statusIn the DNA Center GUI, navigate to Provision > Plug and Play > Devices to check if the PnP service is configured and active; alternatively, query the PnP API endpoint /api/pnp/v1/infoAffected if The PnP feature is enabled and there are devices registered in the Plug and Play workflow
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Review user accounts and RBAC assignmentsIn DNA Center, go to System > Users > Manage Users to list all user accounts and their assigned roles; check for accounts with roles other than 'Admin' or 'Super Admin'Affected if There are user accounts assigned to standard or read-only roles (non-admin) who have API access
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Inspect API access logs for PnP endpointsReview DNA Center system logs or API logging for requests to internal PnP endpoints (such as /api/pnp/v1/ or internal API paths); check under System > Tools > API Debug or export logs via syslogAffected if API calls to PnP internal endpoints were made by users with low-privilege roles, or unauthorized access to configuration file data is observed in logs
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Check for sensitive configuration exportsSearch logs and audit trails for API calls that retrieve configuration files or sensitive data in clear text through the PnP agent interfaceAffected if Configuration files or sensitive data were accessed via API by users lacking administrative privileges
Your environment is affected if DNA Center/Catalyst Center runs a version in the vulnerable ranges AND the Network Plug-and-Play feature is enabled AND low-privileged users can access the PnP API endpoints.
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 · scoped2.3.3.72.3.5.0
Apply the vendor patch from Cisco for DNA Center that corrects the RBAC misconfiguration in the PnP agent. Until patched, limit low-privileged user access and monitor for suspicious API queries.
Catalyst Center 2.3.5.0 or later
- 1. Back up current Catalyst Center (Cisco DNA Center) configuration and ensure you have a rollback plan
- 2. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade may cause temporary service disruption
- 3. Download Catalyst Center version 2.3.5.0 or later from Cisco's official software download page
- 4. Follow Cisco's standard upgrade procedure for Catalyst Center: navigate to Administration > System Management > Software Update
- 5. Upload the upgrade file and initiate the upgrade process
- 6. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by logging into the web UI and checking the version under Help > About
- 7. Verify the vulnerability is resolved by confirming the PnP agent no longer exposes sensitive information in clear text through the internal API
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Catalyst Center
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20059 — 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-2023-20059 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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