CVE-2022-20855 Cisco IOS XE Software for Embedded Wireless Controllers on Catalyst Access Points Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

High 7.9 Published 30 Sep 2022 Updated 1 Nov 2024

Authenticated local attackers with high privileges can escape the restricted shell to execute arbitrary commands as root on Cisco Catalyst Access Points.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: An administrator
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2022-20855?

CVE-2022-20855 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, 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 self-healing functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for Embedded Wireless Controllers on Catalyst Access Points could allow an authenticated, local attacker to escape the restricted controller shell and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of the access point. This vulnerability is due to improper checks throughout the restart of certain system processes. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging on to an affected device and executing certain CLI commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying OS as root. To successfully exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need valid credentials for a privilege level 15 user of the wireless controller.

Weakness: CWE-78, CWE-266

Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-20855?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Cisco Ios Xe.

How do I fix CVE-2022-20855?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-20855 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Is CVE-2022-20855 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-20855 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Cisco Ios Xe vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-mxx7-xwrv-x9hr.