Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2023-20012


A vulnerability in the CLI console login authentication of Cisco Nexus 9300-FX3 Series Fabric Extender (FEX) when used in UCS Fabric Interconnect deployments could allow an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to bypass authentication. This vulnerability is due to the improper implementation of the password validation function. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the console port on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass authentication and execute a limited set of commands local to the FEX, which could cause a device reboot and denial of service (DoS) condition.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.3, with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 11 products from cisco, from cisco, from cisco and 8 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2023, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2023-02-23T20:15:13.247

Last Modified

2024-11-21T07:40:20.440

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 5.3 (MEDIUM)

Weaknesses
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-287
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-287

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Operating System cisco nexus_93180yc-fx3s_firmware - Yes
Hardware cisco nexus_93180yc-fx3s - No
Operating System cisco nexus_93180yc-fx3_firmware - Yes
Hardware cisco nexus_93180yc-fx3 - No
Application cisco ucs_central_software < 4.2\(2d\) Yes
Operating System cisco ucs_6536_firmware - Yes
Hardware cisco ucs_6536 - No
Application cisco ucs_central_software < 4.2\(2d\) Yes
Operating System cisco ucs_64108_firmware - Yes
Hardware cisco ucs_64108 - No
Application cisco ucs_central_software < 4.2\(2d\) Yes
Operating System cisco ucs_6454_firmware - Yes
Hardware cisco ucs_6454 - No

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For cisco's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.