# CVE-2023-20258: Deserialization in Cisco Prime Infrastructure

> An authenticated attacker can execute arbitrary OS commands by uploading malicious serialized Java objects to Cisco Prime Infrastructure.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Jan 2024
- **Updated:** 2 Jun 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7pgw-v8m2-c4f9

## What is CVE-2023-20258?

CVE-2023-20258 is a medium-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager, published on 17 Jan 2024. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Prime Infrastructure could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to improper processing of serialized Java objects by the affected application. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a document containing malicious serialized Java objects to be processed by the affected application. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the application to execute arbitrary commands.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-20258?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager, Cisco Prime Infrastructure.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-20258?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-20258 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-20258 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20258 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager

- [CVE-2016-1289](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1289/): Code injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-1291](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1291/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-1487](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1487/): Cisco Prime Infrastructure and Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager Command Injection Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-1821](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1821/): Cisco Prime Infrastructure and Evolved Programmable Network Manager Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-1822](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1822/): Cisco Prime Infrastructure and Evolved Programmable Network Manager Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-20258 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-20258 is a medium-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager, published on 17 Jan 2024. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20258 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager. 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-2023-20258/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20258/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20258
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20258
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-20258

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20258/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.