CVE-2023-20011: Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller and Cisco Cloud Network Controller Cross-Site Request Forgery Vulnerability

Severity: high (CVSS 8.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2023-02-23 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-352

Description

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) and Cisco Cloud Network Controller, formerly Cisco Cloud APIC, could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attack on an affected system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient CSRF protections for the web-based management interface on an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user of the interface to click a malicious link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform arbitrary actions with the privilege level of the affected user. If the affected user has administrative privileges, these actions could include modifying the system configuration and creating new privileged accounts.

Affected products

Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC): from 4.2\(6\) before 5.2\(7g\); from 6.0 before 6.0\(2h\) — fixed in 5.2\(7g\), 6.0\(2h\)
Cisco Cloud Network Controller: from 4.2\(6\) before 25.0\(5\) — fixed in 25.0\(5\)

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) 5.2\(7g\), 6.0\(2h\); Cisco Cloud Network Controller 25.0\(5\). Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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