CVE-2022-20926 in FirePOWER Management Center
Summary
by MITRE • 11/16/2022
A vulnerability in the web management interface of the Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied parameters for certain API endpoints. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted input to an affected API endpoint. A successful exploit could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the device with low system privileges. To successfully exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need valid credentials for a user with Device permissions: by default, only Administrators, Security Approvers and Network Admins user accounts have these permissions.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/19/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-20926 represents a critical command injection flaw within the Cisco Firepower Management Center software ecosystem. This issue specifically targets the web management interface components that handle API endpoint communications, creating a pathway for authenticated remote attackers to escalate their privileges and execute arbitrary system commands. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied parameters before processing them within the system's backend operations.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through carefully crafted API requests that bypass the normal input validation checks. When the FMC software processes these malformed parameters, it fails to properly validate or sanitize the incoming data, allowing malicious payloads to be interpreted and executed within the context of the underlying operating system. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-77 attack pattern category, which specifically addresses command injection flaws where user-controllable data is directly incorporated into system commands without proper sanitization. The attack vector requires an authenticated session, meaning that only users with valid credentials possessing Device permissions can leverage this vulnerability, though the default configuration grants these privileges to Administrators, Security Approvers, and Network Admins roles.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with the ability to execute arbitrary commands with low system privileges on the affected device. This capability enables attackers to manipulate the underlying operating system, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, or disruption of network security services. The vulnerability affects the core management functionality of Cisco Firepower Management Center, which serves as the centralized control point for firewalls and security policies, making it a highly attractive target for threat actors seeking persistent access to network infrastructure. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability directly impacts the principle of least privilege, as it allows attackers to execute system-level commands without requiring elevated administrative credentials beyond the basic Device permissions.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-20926 should prioritize immediate patch management and access control enforcement. Organizations must ensure that all affected FMC software versions receive the appropriate security updates from Cisco to address the input validation deficiencies. Network segmentation and least privilege access controls should be implemented to limit the scope of potential exploitation, particularly restricting Device permission assignments to only those users who absolutely require such capabilities. Additionally, monitoring and logging of API endpoint activities should be enhanced to detect anomalous command execution patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and script injection reinforces the importance of implementing robust input validation controls and comprehensive network monitoring to prevent successful exploitation attempts.