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Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20193

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.3 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Embedded Service Router (ESR) of Cisco ISE could allow an authenticated, local attacker to read, write, or delete arbitrary files on the underlying operating system and escalate their privileges to root. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must have valid Administrator-level privileges on the affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper privilege management in the ESR console. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate their privileges to root and read, write, or delete arbitrary files from the underlying operating system of the affected device. Note: The ESR is not enabled by default and must be licensed. To verify the status of the ESR in the Admin GUI, choose Administration > Settings > Protocols > IPSec.

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

This is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco ISE's Embedded Service Router (ESR) that allows an authenticated Administrator-level attacker to gain root access and read, write, or delete arbitrary files on the underlying OS. The vulnerability stems from improper privilege management in the ESR console, exploited via crafted requests.

MitigationDisable the ESR if not required (it is not enabled by default), apply Cisco patches when available, and restrict Administrator access to trusted personnel only.

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:<= 2.7>= 3.0, <= 3.3

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed Cisco ISE version
    Run 'show version' in the ISE CLI or check the Administration > System > Settings > About page in the ISE web interface to obtain the exact version number
    Affected if The installed version is 2.7 or earlier, or falls between 3.0 and 3.3 inclusive
  2. Verify if ESR is enabled
    Check the ESR configuration via CLI using 'show running-config | include esr' or through the ISE web interface under Administration > System > Settings > ESR
    Affected if The ESR feature is currently enabled on the system
  3. Review Administrator account access
    Audit the list of users with Administrator privileges in ISE under Administration > Identity Management > Identities > Users
    Affected if There are Administrator accounts configured (exploitation requires authenticated Administrator-level access to ISE)

The system is affected if Cisco ISE is running a vulnerable version (2.7 or earlier, or 3.0-3.3) AND the ESR feature is enabled, allowing an authenticated Administrator to potentially escalate privileges to root.

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 3.3
Interim mitigation

Disable the ESR if not required (it is not enabled by default), apply Cisco patches when available, and restrict Administrator access to trusted personnel only.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cisco ISE version 3.4 or later (or the corresponding patched 2.7.x release if staying on 2.x branch)

  1. 1. Verify the current Cisco ISE version by navigating to Administration > System > Licensing > About Cisco ISE in the Admin GUI
  2. 2. Check if the Embedded Service Router (ESR) is enabled by going to Administration > Settings > Protocols > IPSec
  3. 3. If ESR is enabled, disable it as a temporary mitigation by going to Administration > Settings > Protocols > IPSec and toggling ESR off
  4. 4. Access the Cisco Software Download portal at software.cisco.com and navigate to Cisco ISE releases
  5. 5. Download and upgrade to Cisco ISE version 3.4 or later (the first fixed release for this vulnerability)
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the new version in Administration > System > Licensing > About Cisco ISE
  7. 7. Re-enable ESR if needed after confirming the upgrade was successful
Caveat Review Cisco ISE upgrade guides for compatibility notes; major version upgrades (e.g., 2.x to 3.x) may require configuration changes and downtime

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

Fix this in Identity Services Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2023-20193 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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