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Emergency ResponderApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20266

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Cisco Emergency Responder, Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (Unified CM SME), and Cisco Unity Connection could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privileges to root on an affected device. This vulnerability exists because the application does not properly restrict the files that are being used for upgrades. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by providing a crafted upgrade file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid platform administrator credentials on an affected 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 confidence

This vulnerability in Cisco UC products (Emergency Responder, Unified CM, Unified CM SME, and Unity Connection) allows an authenticated platform administrator to elevate privileges to root by providing a crafted upgrade file. The root cause is improper restriction of files used during the upgrade process, enabling privilege escalation via a malicious upgrade package.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco security updates for the affected products. Ensure platform administrator credentials are secured and monitor for any suspicious upgrade activity.

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
Emergency ResponderApplication
Affected:= 12.5.1su4= 12.5.1su8a= 14su3
Unified Communications ManagerApplication
Affected:= 12.5.1su8
Unity ConnectionApplication
Affected:= 12.5\(1\)su6= 12.5\(1\)su7= 12.5\(1\)su8= 14su2= 14su3

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 the installed Cisco UC product
    Log into the Cisco Unified Communications environment and determine which product is running: Cisco Emergency Responder, Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), or Unity Connection. This can typically be found in the product's web interface footer or via CLI commands like 'show version'.
    Affected if The product is one of: Emergency Responder, Unified Communications Manager, Unity Connection, or Unified CM SME.
  2. Determine the product version
    Retrieve the exact version number of the installed product. For Emergency Responder and Unity Connection, check the Cisco Unified Communications Operating System Administration interface or use CLI commands. For Unified CM, check the About page in the Administration interface.
    Affected if The version matches any of: Emergency Responder 12.5.1su4, 12.5.1su8a, or 14su3; Unified CM 12.5.1su8; Unity Connection 12.5(1)su6, 12.5(1)su7, 12.5(1)su8, 14su2, or 14su3.
  3. Verify platform administrator access exists
    Confirm that platform-level administrator credentials are configured and accessible. The vulnerability requires a valid platform administrator account, not just an application administrator. Check if platform admin accounts exist in the Operating System Administration console.
    Affected if Active platform administrator accounts are present in the system.
  4. Check for recent upgrade activity
    Review system logs, particularly upgrade-related logs and audit trails, for any recent or pending upgrade file uploads or installations. Check the Cisco Upgrade History or System History logs for suspicious .iso or .smu files.
    Affected if Recent upgrade files have been uploaded or applied, or unusual upgrade activity is logged.

You are affected if you are running any of the listed product versions AND have an active platform administrator account, as the vulnerability allows privilege escalation through the upgrade mechanism.

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 relevant Cisco security updates for the affected products. Ensure platform administrator credentials are secured and monitor for any suspicious upgrade activity.

Fix this in Emergency Responder Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

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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-2023-20266 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