Cisco DNA Center Software API Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability

CVE-2023-20182 is a command injection vulnerability in the API of Cisco DNA Center Software [1]. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input in API requests. An authenticated, remote attacker can exploit this to execute arbitrary commands in a restricted container with root privileges. The advisory notes multiple vulnerabilities, but this CVE specifically addresses the command injection. Affected versions include all Cisco DNA Center Software releases prior to the fixed version [1].

Exploitation

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must have valid authentication credentials for the Cisco DNA Center API. No additional privileges or user interaction are required. The attacker sends specially crafted API requests that include malicious input, which the software fails to validate properly [1]. The exploitation does not depend on other vulnerabilities and can be performed independently.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as the root user within a restricted container [1]. This can lead to full compromise of the container, including reading sensitive information, modifying system files, and potentially pivoting to other parts of the infrastructure depending on container isolation boundaries.

Mitigation

Cisco has released software updates that address these vulnerabilities. There are no workarounds available [1]. Users should upgrade to the latest fixed version of Cisco DNA Center Software as specified in the advisory. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog as of the publication date.