# CVE-2023-20090: Cisco TelePresence Collaboration Endpoint and RoomOS Software Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

> An authenticated local attacker can elevate privileges to root on Cisco TelePresence devices by exploiting improper access control on CLI commands.

- **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:** 15 Nov 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2237-2j5h-553w

## What is CVE-2023-20090?

CVE-2023-20090 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco RoomOS Software, published on 15 Nov 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in Cisco TelePresence CE and RoomOS could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges to root on an affected device.

This vulnerability is due to improper access control on certain CLI commands. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by running a series of crafted commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root.
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-27 (Path Traversal: 'dir/../../filename')

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-20090?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Cisco Roomos, Cisco Telepresence Collaboration Endpoint.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-20090?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-20090 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-20090 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20090 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco RoomOS Software

- [CVE-2026-20150](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20150/): Cisco RoomOS Security Hardening Release - Access Control Vulnerabilities (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-15288](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15288/): Cisco TelePresence Collaboration Endpoint, TelePresence Codec, and RoomOS Software Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-20156](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20156/): Cisco RoomOS Security Hardening Release - Buffer Management Vulnerabilities (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2026-20153](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20153/): Cisco RoomOS Security Hardening Release - Input Validation Vulnerabilities (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-20157](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20157/): Cisco RoomOS Security Hardening Release - Missing Encryption Vulnerabilities (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-20090 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-20090 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco RoomOS Software, published on 15 Nov 2024. 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-2023-20090 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco RoomOS 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-2023-20090/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20090/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20090
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20090
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-20090

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20090/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.