CVE-2023-20049
8.6 · HIGHOverview
CVE-2023-20049 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting cisco ios_xr. It was published on March 9, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.6 (HIGH).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.6, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
A vulnerability in the bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD) hardware offload feature of Cisco IOS XR Software for Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers, ASR 9902 Compact High-Performance Routers, and ASR 9903 Compact High-Performance Routers could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a line card to reset, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to the incorrect handling of malformed BFD packets that are received on line cards where the BFD hardware offload feature is enabled. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted IPv4 BFD packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause line card exceptions or a hard reset, resulting in loss of traffic over that line card while the line card reloads.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from cisco. Update ios_xr to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| cisco | ios_xr | >= 0, < 7.5.3 | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-20049?
CVE-2023-20049 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting cisco ios_xr. It was published on March 9, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.6 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2023-20049?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.6, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-20049?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from cisco. Update ios_xr to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-20049?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2023-20049 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
Automated penetration testing that runs continuously, not just quarterly.
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Browser-based exploitation validates findings with real proof-of-concept.
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