Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco Catalyst 9000 Family Switches and Catalyst 9000 Family Wireless Controllers Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Vulnerability

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco Catalyst 9000 Family Switches and Cisco Catalyst 9000 Family Wireless Controllers [1]. The issue is due to insufficient validation of user privileges after the user executes certain CLI commands [1]. Affected devices include those running vulnerable versions of Cisco IOS XE Software on the Catalyst 9000 series [1].

Exploitation

An attacker must have authenticated access to the affected device as a low-privileged user [1]. The attacker then executes certain CLI commands that trigger the insufficient validation [1]. No user interaction or additional privileges are required beyond the initial low-privileged access [1].

Impact

A successful exploit allows the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with level 15 privileges on the affected device [1]. Level 15 is the highest privilege level, granting full administrative access [1]. This results in complete compromise of the device's confidentiality, integrity, and availability [1].

Mitigation

Cisco has released free software updates to address this vulnerability [1]. Customers with service contracts should obtain fixed software through their usual update channels [1]. The advisory provides details on affected versions and specific fixed releases [1]. There is no mention of a workaround for devices that cannot be immediately upgraded [1].