# CVE-2023-20021: Cisco Identity Services Engine Privilege Escalation Vulnerabilities

> Authenticated local attackers with Administrator privileges can execute arbitrary commands as root via crafted CLI inputs in Cisco ISE.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **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:** 5 Apr 2023
- **Updated:** 28 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jhc4-m89v-hgmx

## What is CVE-2023-20021?

CVE-2023-20021 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine, published on 5 Apr 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Multiple vulnerabilities in specific Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) CLI commands could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform command injection attacks on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. To exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker must have valid Administrator privileges on the affected device. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by submitting a crafted CLI command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-20021?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Identity Services Engine.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-20021?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-20021 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-20021 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20021 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-2023-20021 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-20021 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine, published on 5 Apr 2023. 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-2023-20021 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-2023-20021/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20021/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20021
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20021
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-20021

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20021/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.