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Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20111

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.6.0 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to access sensitive information. This vulnerability is due to the improper storage of sensitive information within the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the web-based management interface and viewing hidden fields within the application. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to access sensitive information, including device entry credentials, that could aid the attacker in further attacks.

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

Cisco ISE stores sensitive information like device credentials in hidden fields within its web-based management interface. An authenticated attacker with valid login credentials can view these hidden fields to access plaintext credentials or other sensitive data that should not be exposed to the application user.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Cisco when available. In the interim, restrict administrative access to the ISE web interface to trusted personnel only and monitor for unauthorized account usage.

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:<= 2.6.0= 2.7.0= 3.0.0= 3.1

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Cisco ISE installed version
    Log into the ISE admin CLI or access Administration > System > Settings > Product Version in the web UI to retrieve the exact version number
    Affected if Version is 2.6.0 or lower, 2.7.0, 3.0.0, or 3.1
  2. Confirm web management interface is enabled
    Verify the ISE web-based management interface is accessible on port 443 or 8080
    Affected if The web management interface is exposed and reachable
  3. Review administrator accounts for unauthorized access
    Check Administration > Identity Management > Identities > Users in the ISE web UI for any unexpected admin accounts or recent credential changes
    Affected if Unknown or unauthorized administrator accounts exist in the system
  4. Audit access to credential storage pages
    Review ISE admin logs and session records for queries to pages that expose device credentials or sensitive hidden fields
    Affected if Unusual or unauthorized queries to credential storage interfaces are present in logs

A system is affected if it runs Cisco ISE versions 2.6.0 or lower, 2.7.0, 3.0.0, or 3.1 AND the web management interface is accessible to users who should not view hidden credential data.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.6.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Cisco when available. In the interim, restrict administrative access to the ISE web interface to trusted personnel only and monitor for unauthorized account usage.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cisco ISE 3.2 or later

  1. 1. Back up the Cisco ISE configuration before starting the upgrade process
  2. 2. Review Cisco ISE upgrade documentation and ensure compatibility with your current deployment
  3. 3. Download Cisco ISE version 3.2 or later from the Cisco Software Download page
  4. 4. Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades require downtime
  5. 5. Upload the upgrade bundle to the Cisco ISE primary node
  6. 6. Initiate the upgrade through the ISE CLI or admin GUI
  7. 7. Wait for the upgrade to complete and verify all services are running
  8. 8. Verify the vulnerability is resolved by checking that sensitive information is no longer visible in hidden fields
Caveat Upgrading ISE between major versions may require configuration adjustments and has downtime; ensure compatibility with connected systems and review Cisco ISE upgrade guides

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2023-20111 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