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Application Policy Infrastructure ControllerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20230

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2 / 6.0 or later.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 restricted security domain implementation of Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to read, modify, or delete non-tenant policies (for example, access policies) created by users associated with a different security domain on an affected system. This vulnerability is due to improper access control when restricted security domains are used to implement multi-tenancy for policies outside the tenant boundaries. An attacker with a valid user account associated with a restricted security domain could exploit this vulnerability. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to read, modify, or delete policies created by users associated with a different security domain. Exploitation is not possible for policies under tenants that an attacker has no authorization to access.

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 confidence

Cisco APIC's restricted security domain implementation has an access control flaw where users with accounts in one security domain can read, modify, or delete policies (like access policies) created by users in different security domains, despite multi-tenancy boundaries intended to isolate them. This allows cross-tenant policy manipulation by authenticated users who should only have access to their designated domain's resources.

MitigationApply the Cisco patch for this vulnerability; until then, strictly limit user assignments to security domains and audit policy changes for unauthorized modifications. Review user-role mappings to ensure they align with intended tenant isolation.

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
Application Policy Infrastructure ControllerApplication
Affected:>= 5.2, < 5.2\(8d\)>= 6.0, < 6.0\(3d\)

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 installed Cisco APIC version
    Log into the APIC controller GUI or use the APIC CLI command 'show version' to determine the exact firmware version installed
    Affected if The installed version is 5.2.x before 5.2(8d) OR 6.0.x before 6.0(3d)
  2. Verify security domains are configured
    In the APIC GUI, navigate to Admin > Security Management > Security Domains, or use the API query 'api/securityDomain.json' to list configured security domains
    Affected if Multiple security domains exist and multi-tenant isolation is intended
  3. Review user-to-security-domain assignments
    In APIC, go to Admin > User Management > User Accounts, or query 'apiaaaUser.json' and cross-reference with 'api/securityDomain.json' to see which users are assigned to which domains
    Affected if Users are assigned to security domains (this indicates the vulnerable configuration)
  4. Inspect cross-domain policy access
    In APIC GUI, navigate to the specific tenant policies (e.g., Access Policies, Fabric Policies) and check the owner security domain. Then attempt to verify if users from one domain can view/edit policies created in a different domain by checking policy tenancy attributes
    Affected if Policies created in one security domain are accessible or modifiable by users assigned to a different security domain

A user is affected if they run Cisco APIC version 5.2.x before 5.2(8d) or 6.0.x before 6.0(3d) and have multiple security domains with user assignments, where cross-domain policy access is possible.

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 5.2 / 6.0 or later
Fixed in 5.26.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the Cisco patch for this vulnerability; until then, strictly limit user assignments to security domains and audit policy changes for unauthorized modifications. Review user-role mappings to ensure they align with intended tenant isolation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Cisco APIC 5.2(8d) or later for 5.2.x branch; Cisco APIC 6.0(3d) or later for 6.0.x branch

  1. 1. Identify the currently running Cisco APIC version using 'acidiag version' or the APIC web interface.
  2. 2. Determine which branch of code is in use (5.2.x or 6.0.x) based on the current version.
  3. 3. For 5.2.x branch: Schedule maintenance window and upgrade to version 5.2(8d) or later.
  4. 4. For 6.0.x branch: Schedule maintenance window and upgrade to version 6.0(3d) or later.
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify the fix by confirming the APIC version matches the fixed release (show version command).
  6. 6. Verify restricted security domain policies are still functioning correctly after the upgrade.
Caveat Standard Cisco APIC upgrade procedures apply - ensure backups are taken and coordinate with maintenance window; minor GUI or API behavior changes may occur between major versions

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

Fix this in Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,520
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,832.

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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-2023-20230 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