CVE-2023-20082
6.1 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2023-20082 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting cisco ios_xe. It was published on March 23, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.1 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.1, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches could allow an authenticated, local attacker with level-15 privileges or an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the device to execute persistent code at boot time and break the chain of trust. This vulnerability is due to errors that occur when retrieving the public release key that is used for image signature verification. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by modifying specific variables in the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) flash memory of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute persistent code on the underlying operating system. Note: In Cisco IOS XE Software releases 16.11.1 and later, the complexity of an attack using this vulnerability is high. However, an attacker with level-15 privileges could easily downgrade the Cisco IOS XE Software on a device to a release that would lower the attack complexity.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from cisco. Update ios_xe 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_xe | >= 0, < 17.3.7 | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-20082?
CVE-2023-20082 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting cisco ios_xe. It was published on March 23, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.1 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2023-20082?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.1, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-20082?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from cisco. Update ios_xe 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-2023-20082?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2023-20082 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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