CVE-2022-20719 in ISR800
Summary
by MITRE • 04/15/2022
Multiple vulnerabilities in the Cisco IOx application hosting environment on multiple Cisco platforms could allow an attacker to inject arbitrary commands into the underlying host operating system, execute arbitrary code on the underlying host operating system, install applications without being authenticated, or conduct a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against a user of the affected software. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/20/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-20719 represents a critical security flaw within Cisco IOx application hosting environment across multiple Cisco platform families. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the IOx framework, which is designed to enable applications to run on Cisco devices such as routers, switches, and security appliances. The IOx environment serves as a containerized application hosting platform that allows third-party applications to be deployed and executed on Cisco networking equipment, creating a complex attack surface that requires robust security controls.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves multiple attack vectors that collectively represent a severe compromise of the underlying host operating system security model. Attackers can leverage command injection flaws to execute arbitrary code directly on the host operating system, bypassing normal application isolation boundaries. This occurs due to inadequate sanitization of user inputs passed to system commands within the IOx environment, creating opportunities for malicious actors to inject OS-level commands that execute with elevated privileges. The vulnerability also enables unauthenticated application installation, which violates fundamental security principles of access control and privilege management. Additionally, the presence of cross-site scripting capabilities indicates that the vulnerability extends beyond the host system to affect web-based management interfaces, potentially allowing attackers to compromise user sessions and escalate privileges through browser-based attacks.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-20719 is substantial and multifaceted across enterprise and network infrastructure environments. Organizations utilizing Cisco IOx applications face potential complete compromise of their network devices, as attackers can gain persistent access to underlying operating systems and execute malicious code without proper authentication. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and could enable attackers to establish backdoors, exfiltrate sensitive network data, or disrupt critical network operations. The cross-site scripting component adds another dimension of risk by potentially allowing attackers to compromise user sessions in management interfaces, leading to unauthorized access to network configuration and monitoring capabilities. The vulnerability affects multiple Cisco platforms including ISR 4000, ASR 1000, and Catalyst 9000 series devices, creating widespread exposure across enterprise and service provider networks.
Security mitigations for CVE-2022-20719 should address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. Organizations must apply Cisco's official security patches and updates as released through their security advisory process, which typically include input validation fixes and access control enhancements. Network segmentation strategies should be implemented to isolate IOx-enabled devices from critical network segments, reducing the potential blast radius of successful exploitation. The implementation of network monitoring and anomaly detection systems becomes crucial for identifying suspicious command execution patterns and unauthorized application installations. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 for cross-site scripting and CWE-78 for command injection, both of which are categorized under the OWASP Top Ten security risks. The attack patterns associated with this vulnerability map to multiple ATT&CK techniques including T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation, indicating that defenders should implement appropriate detection and response capabilities aligned with these threat patterns. Organizations should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies and restricting IOx application deployment to only trusted sources to reduce the attack surface and prevent unauthorized application installation.