dbcve.org
Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20252

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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 Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) APIs of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain unauthorized access to the application as an arbitrary user. This vulnerability is due to improper authentication checks for SAML APIs. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending requests directly to the SAML API. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to generate an authorization token sufficient to gain access to 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 · moderate confidence

A critical authentication bypass vulnerability exists in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager's SAML APIs due to improper authentication checks. An unauthenticated, remote attacker can directly invoke SAML API endpoints to bypass the authentication mechanism and generate valid authorization tokens, gaining full application access as any user.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Cisco immediately. Prioritize this critical fix given the CVSS 9.8 score and unauthenticated remote exploitation vector.

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:= 20.9.3.2= 20.11.1.2

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
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager installation
    Locate the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (formerly vManage) in your environment. Check for the web-based SD-WAN management interface typically accessible on port 443 or 8443.
    Affected if The software is present in the environment
  2. Determine installed version
    Access the SD-WAN Manager web interface and navigate to Administration > Settings > Software Version, or use the CLI command 'show version' on the SD-WAN Manager device to retrieve the exact software version number.
    Affected if The installed version matches 20.9.3.2 or 20.11.1.2 exactly
  3. Verify SAML configuration is active
    Check if SAML single sign-on is configured in the SD-WAN Manager under Administration > User & Group > SAML Configuration, or inspect API documentation for SAML endpoint availability.
    Affected if SAML authentication is enabled and SAML API endpoints are exposed
  4. Confirm API access is reachable
    Test for unauthenticated access to SAML API endpoints such as /dataservice/saml/auth or similar paths under the /dataservice API base path.
    Affected if SAML API endpoints are reachable without authentication

You are affected if Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager versions 20.9.3.2 or 20.11.1.2 are running and SAML API endpoints are exposed, allowing unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Cisco immediately. Prioritize this critical fix given the CVSS 9.8 score and unauthenticated remote exploitation vector.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager fixed release (consult sec.cloudapps.cisco.com for CVE-2023-20252 for exact version numbers)

  1. 1. Identify the current Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (vManage) version running in your environment
  2. 2. Access the Cisco Security Advisory at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com for CVE-2023-20252 to obtain the exact fixed release numbers
  3. 3. Plan the upgrade during a maintenance window following Cisco's standard upgrade procedures for SD-WAN Manager
  4. 4. Before upgrading, take a complete backup of the vManage database and configuration
  5. 5. Upgrade to the fixed release specified in the Cisco security advisory (typically a later 20.9.x or 20.11.x release)
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify that SAML authentication is functioning correctly and that the application enforces proper authorization checks
  7. 7. Review audit logs to confirm no unauthorized access occurred during the vulnerable period
Caveat Standard SD-WAN Manager upgrade risks apply - ensure compatibility with other SD-WAN components before upgrading

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
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2023-20252 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