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Nx OsOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2023-20115

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
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 SFTP server implementation for Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches and 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to download or overwrite files from the underlying operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to a logic error when verifying the user role when an SFTP connection is opened to an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting and authenticating via SFTP as a valid, non-administrator user. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to read or overwrite files from the underlying operating system with the privileges of the authenticated user. There are 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 confidence

A logic error in the SFTP server implementation of Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series Switches (standalone NX-OS mode) allows authenticated non-administrator users to bypass proper role verification during SFTP connection establishment, enabling unauthorized read/write access to files on the underlying operating system with the authenticated user's privileges.

MitigationApply Cisco-provided workarounds (which may include SFTP configuration changes or role permission modifications) or deploy the official Cisco patch when available. Verify that non-admin SFTP users have appropriate restrictions.

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
Nx OsOperating system
Affected:= 9.2\(1\)= 9.2\(2\)= 9.2\(2t\)= 9.2\(2v\)= 9.2\(3\)= 9.2\(4\)= 9.3\(1\)= 9.3\(2\)= 9.3\(3\)= 9.3\(4\)= 9.3\(5\)= 9.3\(6\)

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
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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 the device model
    Run 'show version' or 'show inventory' to confirm the hardware is a Cisco Nexus 3000 or 9000 Series Switch
    Affected if The device is not a Nexus 3000 or 9000 series switch (not affected)
  2. Confirm NX-OS mode is standalone
    Run 'show system mode' or check the NX-OS operation mode in the running configuration
    Affected if The device is not running standalone NX-OS mode (not affected)
  3. Check the installed NX-OS version
    Run 'show version' and locate the NX-OS software version string (for example, 9.3(3)). Compare this version against the affected list: 9.2(1), 9.2(2), 9.2(2t), 9.2(2v), 9.2(3), 9.2(4), 9.3(1), 9.3(2), 9.3(3), 9.3(4), 9.3(5), 9.3(6)
    Affected if The installed version matches any of the versions in the affected list (potentially affected)
  4. Verify if the SFTP server is enabled
    Run 'show running-config | include sftp' or check the SFTP server configuration in the management settings
    Affected if SFTP server is disabled or not configured (not affected)
  5. Check for non-administrator users with SFTP access
    Run 'show user account' or review the local user database and role assignments to identify non-admin users who may use SFTP
    Affected if No non-administrator users exist or none have SFTP access (not affected)

The device is affected if it is a Nexus 3000 or 9000 series switch running standalone NX-OS version 9.2(1) through 9.3(6) with the SFTP server enabled and at least one non-administrator user configured.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Cisco-provided workarounds (which may include SFTP configuration changes or role permission modifications) or deploy the official Cisco patch when available. Verify that non-admin SFTP users have appropriate restrictions.

Fix this in Nx Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,790
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-20115 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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