CVE-2023-20129 in Prime Infrastructure
Summary
by MITRE • 04/05/2023
Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco Prime Infrastructure and Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager (EPNM) could allow a remote attacker to obtain privileged information and conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/24/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-20129 affects Cisco Prime Infrastructure and Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager EPNM web-based management interfaces, representing a critical security concern that exposes organizations to significant operational risks. These platforms serve as central management systems for network infrastructure, making them prime targets for cyber adversaries seeking to compromise network security. The affected systems operate within enterprise environments where they manage critical network components, making the exploitation of these vulnerabilities particularly dangerous as they could provide attackers with elevated privileges and unauthorized access to network resources.
The technical flaw manifests through multiple attack vectors including cross-site scripting and cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities that exist within the web interface components of these management platforms. These vulnerabilities stem from inadequate input validation and insufficient output encoding mechanisms within the web application code. The XSS vulnerabilities allow attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users, potentially enabling session hijacking, data theft, or unauthorized administrative actions. The CSRF vulnerabilities permit attackers to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge, potentially leading to privilege escalation or unauthorized configuration changes. Both vulnerabilities exploit the web interface's failure to properly sanitize user inputs and validate request origins, creating pathways for malicious actors to manipulate the applications' intended behavior.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-20129 extends beyond simple data theft, as successful exploitation could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive network configuration data, user credentials, and operational parameters. Network administrators who rely on these management interfaces for system monitoring and control face potential compromise of their entire network infrastructure. The vulnerabilities could allow attackers to escalate privileges, modify network policies, or even disrupt network operations through unauthorized configuration changes. Organizations using these platforms may experience significant security breaches that compromise network integrity and confidentiality, particularly when attackers leverage the XSS capabilities to capture administrative sessions or use CSRF attacks to modify critical network settings. The potential for lateral movement within network environments increases substantially when attackers can manipulate these management interfaces.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches provided by Cisco, implementing network segmentation to isolate management interfaces, and deploying web application firewalls to monitor and filter traffic to these interfaces. Access controls should be strengthened through multi-factor authentication implementation and role-based access restrictions to limit exposure. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect anomalous behavior patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, particularly around authentication and configuration change activities. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and review system logs for signs of unauthorized access. The implementation of secure coding practices and regular security testing should be prioritized to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future development cycles, aligning with industry standards such as those defined in CWE categories related to input validation and output encoding, and following ATT&CK framework mappings for web application exploitation techniques.