Secure Firewall Management CenterApplication · Cisco
CVE-2023-20219
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 the web management interface of Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. The attacker would need valid device credentials but does not require administrator privileges to exploit this vulnerability. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input for certain configuration options. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by using crafted input within the device configuration GUI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the device including the underlying operating system which could also affect the availability of the device.
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 confidenceMultiple command injection vulnerabilities in Cisco Firepower Management Center's web management interface allow authenticated attackers with valid device credentials (but not necessarily admin privileges) to execute arbitrary OS commands by submitting crafted input in configuration options. This is due to insufficient input validation on certain configuration parameters.
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
Secure Firewall Management CenterApplication
>= 6.2.3, <= 6.2.3.18>= 6.4.0, <= 6.4.0.16>= 6.6.0, <= 6.6.7.1>= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.5>= 7.1.0, <= 7.1.0.3>= 7.2.0, <= 7.2.3.1>= 7.3.0, <= 7.3.1.1CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check FMC software versionAccess the Firepower Management Center web interface and navigate to System > Licenses > Smart Software License, or use the CLI command 'show version' on the FMC device to retrieve the installed software version.Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 6.2.3 to 6.2.3.18, 6.4.0 to 6.4.0.16, 6.6.0 to 6.6.7.1, 7.0.0 to 7.0.5, 7.1.0 to 7.1.0.3, 7.2.0 to 7.2.3.1, or 7.3.0 to 7.3.1.1.
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Verify web management interface accessibilityDetermine whether the FMC web management interface (HTTPS on port 443) is exposed to networks beyond the trusted administrative segment. Check firewall rules, ACLs, or reverse proxy configurations that govern access to the FMC web interface.Affected if The web management interface is accessible from networks where untrusted or unauthorized users could potentially obtain valid device credentials.
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Identify users with device credentialsReview user accounts configured on the FMC by navigating to System > Users or using the 'show user' commands in the CLI. Note that the vulnerability allows command injection even with non-admin credentials.Affected if Multiple user accounts exist with device-level access, particularly accounts beyond the primary administrator that may have limited visibility into configuration changes.
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Audit recent configuration changesReview FMC configuration audit logs, typically found under System > Logs > Audit Logs, focusing on changes to device settings, network configuration, or platform settings that could indicate exploitation attempts.Affected if Configuration changes show suspicious activity such as unexpected modifications to network settings, custom objects, or device configurations that were not initiated by known administrators.
A user is affected if the FMC runs a version within the listed vulnerable ranges AND has its web management interface accessible to authenticated users with credentials that could be leveraged for command injection via configuration parameters.
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 available patches for FMC Software; if patches unavailable, restrict web management interface access to authorized administrators only and monitor for suspicious configuration changes.
Upgrade to FMC version 6.2.3.19 or later (6.2.x branch), 6.4.0.17 or later (6.4.x branch), 6.6.8 or later (6.6.x branch), or 7.0.6 or later (7.0.x branch)
- 1. Identify the currently installed Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) version using the web interface (System > About > System Information) or CLI (show version)
- 2. Determine which version branch your current installation falls into (6.2.3.x, 6.4.0.x, 6.6.0.x, or 7.0.0.x)
- 3. Download the appropriate fixed FMC software version from Cisco (requires valid Cisco service contract)
- 4. Plan maintenance window - upgrade requires brief disruption to management functionality
- 5. Backup current FMC configuration before proceeding with upgrade
- 6. Upload the new software image via FMC web interface (System > Updates > Product Updates)
- 7. Install the update and monitor for successful completion
- 8. Verify the new version is installed and all services are operational
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Secure Firewall Management Center
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20219 — 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-2023-20219 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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- 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
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