Privilege escalation in Cisco IOS XE Software

1) Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

EUVDB-ID: #VU81670

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 6.3 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-20235

CWE-ID: CWE-264 - Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to the Docker containers with the privileged runtime option are not blocked when they are in application development mode within the Cisco IOx application. A remote administrator can gain access to the underlying operating system as the root user.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Catalyst IE3x00 Rugged Series Switches: All versions

Catalyst IR1100 Rugged Series Routers: All versions

Catalyst IR1800 Rugged Series Routers: All versions

Catalyst IR8100 Heavy Duty Series Routers: All versions

Catalyst IR8300 Rugged Series Routers: All versions

Embedded Services 3300 Series Switches: All versions

Cisco IOS XE: before 17.13.1

External links

http://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-rdocker-uATbukKn

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote authenticated privileged user via the Internet.

How the attacker can exploit this vulnerability?

The attacker would have to send a specially crafted request to the affected device in order to exploit this vulnerability.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.