# CVE-2022-20733: Cisco Identity Services Engine Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

> Unauthenticated remote attackers can bypass login using exposed SAML metadata to gain unrestricted access to all roles in Cisco ISE.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Jun 2022
- **Updated:** 6 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gqhw-x424-g962

## What is CVE-2022-20733?

CVE-2022-20733 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine, published on 15 Jun 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the login page of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in without credentials and access all roles without any restrictions. This vulnerability is due to exposed sensitive Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) metadata. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using the exposed SAML metadata to bypass authentication to the user portal. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to access all roles without any restrictions.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-20733?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Identity Services Engine.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-20733?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-20733 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-20733 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-20733 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Identity Services Engine

- [CVE-2026-76460](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76460/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-20337](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20337/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Injection (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-20281](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20281/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Injection (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-20130](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20130/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Hardening Release - Improper Neutralization Vulnerabilities (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-20192](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20192/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Hardening Release - Access Control Vulnerabilities (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-20733 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-20733 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine, published on 15 Jun 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-20733 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Identity Services Engine. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20733/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20733/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-20733
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-20733
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-20733

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20733/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.