VULNERABILITY INTELLIGENCE

CVE-2023-20046

CVSS score8.8 HIGH
EPSS probability1.56%
CISA KEVNot currently listed
Published2023-05-09
Last modified2026-06-17
CVSS vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 classification

  • psirt@cisco.com: CWE-289
  • nvd@nist.gov: CWE-522

Primary references