CVE-2022-20855 HIGH

CVE-2022-20855: Cisco IOS XE Software for Embedded Wireless Controllers on Catalyst Access Points Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Vendor Cisco
Product Cisco IOS XE Software
Weakness CWE-266
Published September 30, 2022
Last update November 1, 2024

CVSS base score

7.9/10
Attack vector Local
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required High
User interaction None
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

What the vulnerability does

01Description

A vulnerability in the self-healing functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for Embedded Wireless Controllers on Catalyst Access Points could allow an authenticated, local attacker to escape the restricted controller shell and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of the access point. This vulnerability is due to improper checks throughout the restart of certain system processes. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging on to an affected device and executing certain CLI commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying OS as root. To successfully exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need valid credentials for a privilege level 15 user of the wireless controller.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

September 30, 2022 CVE published
November 1, 2024 Record updated