# CVE-2022-20865: Cisco FXOS Software Command Injection Vulnerability

> An authenticated local attacker with Administrator privileges can inject arbitrary commands to execute code with root privileges on Cisco FXOS devices.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 25 Aug 2022
- **Updated:** 6 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9766-m25j-vj6w

## What is CVE-2022-20865?

CVE-2022-20865 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System (FXOS), published on 25 Aug 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 Cisco FXOS Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject arbitrary commands that are executed with root privileges. The attacker would need to have Administrator privileges on the device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of commands supplied by the user. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to a device and submitting crafted input to the affected command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-20865?

It affects 12 products.


Products: Cisco Firepower 4110 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 4112 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 4115 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 4120 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 4125 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 4140 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 4145 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 4150 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 9300 Sm-40 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 9300 Sm-48 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 9300 Sm-56 Firmware, Cisco Firepower 9300 Sm-56 X 3 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-20865?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-20865 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-20865 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-20865 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System (FXOS)

- [CVE-2019-12674](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12674/): Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software Multi-instance Container Escape Vulnerabilities (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2019-12675](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12675/): Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software Multi-instance Container Escape Vulnerabilities (high 8.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-20865 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-20865 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System (FXOS), published on 25 Aug 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-2022-20865 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System (FXOS). 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-2022-20865/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20865/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-20865
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-20865
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-20865

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20865/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.