Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco
CVE-2023-20166
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 · uneditedMultiple vulnerabilities in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated attacker to perform path traversal attacks on the underlying operating system to either elevate privileges to root or read arbitrary files. To exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker must have valid Administrator credentials on the affected device. For more information about these vulnerabilities, 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 · moderate confidenceMultiple path traversal vulnerabilities in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) allow authenticated Administrator-level attackers to either elevate privileges to root or read arbitrary files on the underlying operating system by manipulating file path references in the application.
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
= 3.2CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Cisco ISE is deployedCheck for Cisco ISE installation by reviewing network inventory, searching for 'ise' processes on servers, or checking for the ISE web admin interface on port 443. Cisco ISE typically runs on dedicated appliances or VMs and exposes an admin web UI.Affected if Cisco Identity Services Engine is found in the environment
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Confirm the installed version is 3.2Log into the Cisco ISE CLI as admin or access the ISE web interface, then navigate to Administration > System > Settings > About ISE to view the exact version number. Alternatively, run 'show version' in the CLI.Affected if The version displayed is exactly 3.2 (any patch release of version 3.2)
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Verify Administrator accounts existIn the ISE web interface, go to Administration > Identity Management > Identities > Users to list Administrator accounts. Check for any admin-level accounts configured in the system.Affected if One or more Administrator-level accounts are configured in Cisco ISE
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Review file access logs for path traversal patternsExamine Cisco ISE logs (typically located in /opt/CSCOcpm/logs/ or via the ISE logging interface) for suspicious file path requests containing patterns like '../', '..\', or absolute paths such as '/etc/passwd' or 'C:\Windows'. Enable detailed audit logging if not already active.Affected if Logs show anomalous file path requests from Administrator sessions that traverse outside the expected application directories
A system is affected if it runs Cisco ISE version 3.2, has at least one Administrator account configured, and an attacker with admin access could exploit path traversal to read or write arbitrary files on the OS.
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 · scopedApply Cisco's official patches for CVE-2023-20166 when available; restrict Administrator access to trusted personnel only and monitor for suspicious file access patterns.
Cisco ISE version higher than 3.2 with security patches (contact Cisco TAC for specific fixed release number)
- 1. Confirm the current Cisco ISE version is 3.2 by checking the Administration > System > Settings > Licensing page in the ISE admin portal
- 2. Back up the Cisco ISE configuration using the admin backup feature (Administration > System > Backup & Restore > Backup)
- 3. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade process
- 4. Download the fixed Cisco ISE release from Cisco.com or your Cisco Smart Account
- 5. Follow Cisco's standard ISE upgrade procedure: upload the ISO image, verify checksum, initiate upgrade from Administration > System > Upgrade > Software Upgrade
- 6. Monitor the upgrade progress and verify the new version loads successfully
- 7. After upgrade, verify administrator access is restored and the ISE services are running normally
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
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20166 — 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-2023-20166 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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