# CVE-2023-20194: Privilege escalation in Cisco Identity Services Engine Software

> Authenticated administrators can exploit improper privilege management in the ERS API to read arbitrary files and escalate privileges on Cisco ISE.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Sep 2023
- **Updated:** 23 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2mg3-562w-27qp

## What is CVE-2023-20194?

CVE-2023-20194 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine, published on 7 Sep 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the ERS API of Cisco ISE could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to read arbitrary files on the underlying operating system of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must have valid Administrator-level privileges on the affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper privilege management in the ERS API. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate their privileges beyond the sphere of their intended access level, which would allow them to obtain sensitive information from the underlying operating system. Note: The ERS is not enabled by default. To verify the status of the ERS API in the Admin GUI, choose Administration > Settings > API Settings > API Service Settings.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management), CWE-268 (Privilege Chaining)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-20194?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Identity Services Engine.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-20194?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-20194 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-20194 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20194 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-2023-20194 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-20194 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine, published on 7 Sep 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20194 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-2023-20194/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20194/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20194
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20194
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-20194

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20194/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.