dbcve.org
Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20261

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
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 web UI of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to retrieve arbitrary files from an affected system. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of parameters that are sent to the web UI. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager and issuing crafted requests using the web UI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain arbitrary files from the underlying Linux file system of an affected system. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must be an authenticated user.

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 path traversal/file inclusion vulnerability in the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager web UI. An authenticated attacker can craft malicious requests with improperly validated parameters to read arbitrary files from the underlying Linux filesystem. The attacker needs valid credentials to exploit this flaw.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Cisco when available. Until then, restrict web UI access to only trusted users through network segmentation and enforce least-privilege access controls.

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:= 17.2.4= 17.2.5= 17.2.6= 17.2.7= 17.2.8= 17.2.9= 17.2.10= 18.2.0= 18.3.0= 18.3.1= 18.3.1.1= 18.3.3

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager installation
    Locate the installation directory or check running processes for 'Cisco SD-WAN Manager' or 'vmanage' components. Common paths include /opt/sdwan or check service listings.
    Affected if The product is installed and running as Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager
  2. Determine installed version
    Run the command to display the SD-WAN Manager version, typically via CLI: 'show version' or check the web UI login page footer for the version number.
    Affected if The installed version matches exactly: 17.2.4, 17.2.5, 17.2.6, 17.2.7, 17.2.8, 17.2.9, 17.2.10, 18.2.0, 18.3.0, 18.3.1, 18.3.1.1, or 18.3.3
  3. Verify web UI is accessible
    Confirm the SD-WAN Manager web interface port is open and reachable. Common ports are 443 or 8443. Use 'netstat' or 'ss' to check listening ports, or attempt a local HTTPS connection.
    Affected if The web UI port is open and accepting connections, enabling an authenticated attacker to send malicious requests
  4. Confirm authentication is required for web UI
    Check if the web login page requires credentials. The vulnerability requires valid user credentials to exploit, so verify that authentication mechanisms are enabled.
    Affected if Valid user credentials exist or can be obtained, allowing an authenticated attacker to exploit the path traversal flaw

You are affected if Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager is installed and the version matches one of the listed affected versions (17.2.4-17.2.10, 18.2.0, 18.3.0-18.3.3) with the web UI accessible to an authenticated user.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Cisco when available. Until then, restrict web UI access to only trusted users through network segmentation and enforce least-privilege access controls.

Fix this in Catalyst Sd Wan Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2023-20261 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
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