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Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20214

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.6.4.2 / 20.6.5.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 request authentication validation for the REST API of Cisco SD-WAN vManage software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain read permissions or limited write permissions to the configuration of an affected Cisco SD-WAN vManage instance. This vulnerability is due to insufficient request validation when using the REST API feature. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted API request to an affected vManage instance. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to retrieve information from and send information to the configuration of the affected Cisco vManage instance. This vulnerability only affects the REST API and does not affect the web-based management interface or the CLI.

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

Authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco SD-WAN vManage REST API due to insufficient request validation. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send crafted API requests to gain read access and limited write access to the vManage configuration database.

MitigationApply the Cisco security patch for CVE-2023-20214. Until patched, restrict network access to the vManage REST API to trusted IPs only using firewall rules or access lists.

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
Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 20.6.4, < 20.6.4.2>= 20.6.5, < 20.6.5.5>= 20.7, < 20.9.3.2>= 20.11, < 20.11.1.2= 20.6.3.3
Sd Wan VmanageApplication
Affected:>= 20.10, < 20.10.1.2

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 vManage product name and version
    Run 'show version' or check the vManage web UI footer for the exact version number (for example, 20.6.4, 20.9.3.2, etc.)
    Affected if The version falls within any of these ranges: >= 20.6.4 and < 20.6.4.2; >= 20.6.5 and < 20.6.5.5; >= 20.7 and < 20.9.3.2; >= 20.11 and < 20.11.1.2; equals 20.6.3.3; or >= 20.10 and < 20.10.1.2
  2. Verify the REST API is exposed externally
    Check firewall rules, access lists, or network configuration to determine if TCP port 443 (or the configured vManage HTTPS port) is accessible from untrusted networks
    Affected if The vManage REST API is reachable from outside the trusted network without IP-based access restrictions
  3. Confirm API endpoint accessibility
    Attempt a GET request to the vManage REST API base endpoint (for example, https://<vmanage-ip>/dataservice) without authentication credentials
    Affected if The API responds with any HTTP status (including 401/403 with server version information) rather than rejecting the connection entirely at the network layer
  4. Check for unauthorized configuration access
    Review vManage audit logs for unauthenticated or failed authentication attempts to REST API endpoints, particularly GET requests to sensitive paths like /dataservice/device, /dataservice/template, or /dataservice/admin/user
    Affected if Unauthenticated API requests appear in the logs from IP addresses that should not have API access

You are affected if your vManage version is within the listed vulnerable ranges AND the REST API is network-accessible from untrusted IPs.

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 20.6.4.2 / 20.6.5.5 / 20.9.3.2 or later
Fixed in 20.6.4.220.6.5.520.9.3.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the Cisco security patch for CVE-2023-20214. Until patched, restrict network access to the vManage REST API to trusted IPs only using firewall rules or access lists.

Recommended fix High confidence

20.11.1.2 (or the latest 20.x release within your major version branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Cisco SD-WAN vManage using the CLI command: 'show version' or via the web UI.
  2. 2. Based on the current version, determine the appropriate upgrade path to reach a fixed release.
  3. 3. For Catalyst SD-WAN Manager: upgrade to 20.6.4.2 or later, 20.6.5.5 or later, 20.9.3.2 or later, or 20.11.1.2 or later.
  4. 4. For SD-WAN vManage: upgrade to 20.10.1.2 or later.
  5. 5. Download the appropriate software from Cisco's official software download page (software.cisco.com).
  6. 6. Follow Cisco's standard upgrade procedure: backup the current configuration, upload the new software image, perform the upgrade, and verify the system comes up correctly.
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the REST API requires proper authentication by testing with invalid credentials to confirm the vulnerability is remediated.
Caveat Standard Cisco upgrade precautions apply: backup configuration before upgrade, ensure compatibility with other SD-WAN components, and plan for potential downtime. Review Cisco SD-WAN release notes for any configuration changes between versions.

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

Fix this in Catalyst Sd Wan Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,150
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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-2023-20214 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