# CVE-2023-20046: Auth bypass in Cisco ASR 5000 Series Software

> An authenticated attacker can elevate privileges by using a low-privileged SSH key from a trusted IP address, requiring workarounds for mitigation.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 May 2023
- **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024

## What is CVE-2023-20046?

CVE-2023-20046 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco ASR 5000 Series Software, published on 9 May 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the key-based SSH authentication feature of Cisco StarOS Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privileges on an affected device.

 This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied credentials. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a valid low-privileged SSH key to an affected device from a host that has an IP address that is configured as the source for a high-privileged user account. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to the affected device through SSH as a high-privileged user.

   There are workarounds that address this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-522 (Insufficiently Protected Credentials), CWE-289 (Authentication Bypass by Alternate Name)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-20046?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Staros.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-20046?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-20046 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-20046 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20046 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco ASR 5000 Series Software

- [CVE-2019-1869](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1869/): Cisco StarOS Denial of Service Vulnerability (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2018-0369](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0369/): Denial of service in Cisco StarOS unknown (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2017-6707](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6707/): Command injection in Cisco StarOS (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2021-1539](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1539/): Cisco ASR 5000 Series Software Authorization Bypass Vulnerabilities (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2021-1540](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1540/): Cisco ASR 5000 Series Software Authorization Bypass Vulnerabilities (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-20046 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-20046 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco ASR 5000 Series Software, published on 9 May 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20046 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco ASR 5000 Series Software. 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-2023-20046/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20046/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20046
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20046
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-20046

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20046/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.