# CVE-2022-20850: Cisco SD-WAN Arbitrary File Deletion Vulnerability

> An authenticated local attacker can delete arbitrary files on Cisco SD-WAN devices via CLI input validation flaws.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 30 Sep 2022
- **Updated:** 1 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5rf9-q3f5-rc77

## What is CVE-2022-20850?

CVE-2022-20850 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco SD-WAN Solution, published on 30 Sep 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the CLI of stand-alone Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and Cisco SD-WAN Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to delete arbitrary files from the file system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting arbitrary file path information when using commands in the CLI of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to delete arbitrary files from the file system of the affected device.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation), CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-20850?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Cisco Ios Xe Sd-Wan, Cisco Sd-Wan, Cisco Sd-Wan Vbond Orchestrator, Cisco Sd-Wan Vmanage, Cisco Sd-Wan Vsmart Controller.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-20850?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-20850 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-20850 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-20850 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco SD-WAN Solution

- [CVE-2021-34727](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-34727/): Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software Buffer Overflow Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-3375](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3375/): Cisco SD-WAN Solution Software Buffer Overflow Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-1305](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1305/): Cisco SD-WAN vManage Authorization Bypass Vulnerabilities (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-20035](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20035/): Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software Command Injection Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-3216](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3216/): Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software Authentication Bypass Vulnerability (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-20850 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-20850 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco SD-WAN Solution, published on 30 Sep 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-20850 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco SD-WAN Solution. 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-2022-20850/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20850/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-20850
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-20850
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-20850

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20850/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.