CVE-2023-20152 in Identity Services Engine
Summary
by MITRE • 04/05/2023
Multiple vulnerabilities in specific Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) CLI commands could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform command injection attacks on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. To exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker must have valid Administrator privileges on the affected device. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by submitting a crafted CLI command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/25/2025
The Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) represents a critical component in enterprise network security infrastructure serving as a policy management platform for authentication, authorization, and accounting services. This system operates as a centralized solution for managing network access control and identity verification across enterprise environments. The vulnerabilities present in specific command line interface commands within this platform pose significant risks to organizations relying on ISE for their security operations. These flaws exist in the underlying operating system layer where administrative commands are processed, creating potential attack vectors that could compromise the entire network security posture.
The technical flaw manifests through insufficient input validation mechanisms within the ISE command processing subsystem. When administrators execute specific CLI commands, the system fails to properly sanitize or validate user-supplied parameters before processing them within the operating system context. This validation gap creates opportunities for command injection attacks where maliciously crafted input can be interpreted and executed as operating system commands. The vulnerability specifically affects the command line interface functionality that handles administrative operations, allowing an attacker with legitimate administrative credentials to leverage these input validation shortcomings.
The operational impact of these vulnerabilities extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass complete system compromise. An authenticated attacker with administrative privileges can exploit these flaws to gain root access to the underlying operating system, effectively providing unrestricted control over the ISE appliance. This elevated privilege level enables the attacker to manipulate network policies, access sensitive authentication data, modify security configurations, and potentially use the compromised ISE as a launching point for further attacks within the network infrastructure. The attack surface is particularly concerning as ISE appliances typically serve as central points for network access control and identity management.
The exploitation of these vulnerabilities aligns with common attack patterns documented in the attack mitigation framework, particularly those involving privilege escalation and command injection techniques. This scenario represents a classic example of how administrative interfaces can become attack vectors when proper input validation is absent. The vulnerabilities map to CWE-77 and CWE-20 categories within the Common Weakness Enumeration system, specifically addressing command injection and input validation weaknesses. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring of CLI activity and privilege usage patterns to detect potential exploitation attempts. Mitigation strategies include applying vendor security patches immediately, implementing strict administrative access controls, and establishing robust network segmentation to limit the impact of potential compromises. The attack surface is particularly dangerous when considering that ISE appliances often contain sensitive identity and access management data that could be leveraged for lateral movement attacks.