dbcve.org
Sd Wan VmanageApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20179

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.6.6 / 20.10 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly Cisco SD-WAN vManage, could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to inject HTML content. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied data in element fields. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting malicious content within requests and persuading a user to view a page that contains injected content. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to modify pages within the web-based management interface, possibly leading to further browser-based attacks against users of the application.

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 confidence

A stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager's web-based management interface allows an authenticated attacker to inject malicious HTML/JavaScript into element fields that lack proper input validation. When other users view pages containing the injected content, the code executes in their browsers, potentially enabling session hijacking, credential theft, or further browser-based attacks.

MitigationApply the Cisco security patch for CVE-2023-20179 when available. Until then, restrict administrative access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious content submissions.

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
Sd Wan VmanageApplication
Affected:< 20.6.6>= 20.7, < 20.10

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/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 Cisco SD-WAN Manager version
    Access the web-based management interface and navigate to the About or Administration > System page to view the version number, or use the CLI command 'show version' on the vManage device
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 20.6.6, or is 20.7.x, 20.8.x, or 20.9.x (any version from 20.7.0 up to but not including 20.10.0)
  2. Confirm web management interface is accessible
    Verify that the Cisco SD-WAN Manager web UI is enabled and reachable at the standard ports (default 443)
    Affected if The web-based management interface is exposed and accessible to users
  3. Check for existing malicious script injections in web UI fields
    Review key configuration pages in the web interface (especially fields in Administration, Settings, or Device templates that are visible to multiple users) for unexpected HTML, script tags, or unusual character sequences
    Affected if Any unexpected script tags, event handlers, or suspicious HTML content is found in user-visible fields
  4. Audit recent authenticated user sessions
    Review authentication and audit logs for any unexpected administrative accounts or suspicious login activity that could indicate the initial compromise used to inject XSS payloads
    Affected if Unrecognized administrative accounts or suspicious session activity is present

You are affected if your Cisco SD-WAN Manager version is < 20.6.6 or falls between 20.7.0 and 20.9.x inclusive, and the web management interface is accessible to authenticated users who could inject malicious content into field inputs.

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 20.6.6 / 20.10 or later
Fixed in 20.6.620.10
Interim mitigation

Apply the Cisco security patch for CVE-2023-20179 when available. Until then, restrict administrative access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious content submissions.

Recommended fix High confidence

20.10.1 or later (or 20.6.6 if on the 20.6.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (vManage) by checking System > Settings > About
  2. 2. If current version is < 20.6.6, upgrade to version 20.6.6 or later (20.6.6.x recommended)
  3. 3. If current version is >= 20.7 and < 20.10, upgrade to version 20.10.1 or later
  4. 4. After upgrade, verify the fix by confirming the vManage version in System > Settings > About matches the target fixed release
  5. 5. Test that user input fields in the web interface properly sanitize input and do not allow XSS execution
Caveat Review Cisco SD-WAN release notes for any configuration changes or migration requirements between versions before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Sd Wan Vmanage Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
25.0 hours of engineering $4,400
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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-2023-20179 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