CVE-2023-20186

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.1 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.8% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2023-09-27 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-285

Description

A vulnerability in the Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) feature of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to bypass command authorization and copy files to or from the file system of an affected device using the Secure Copy Protocol (SCP). This vulnerability is due to incorrect processing of SCP commands in AAA command authorization checks. An attacker with valid credentials and level 15 privileges could exploit this vulnerability by using SCP to connect to an affected device from an external machine. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain or change the configuration of the affected device and put files on or retrieve files from the affected device.

Affected products

Cisco IOS: 12.2(58)ex, 12.2(58)ey, 12.2(58)ey1, 12.2(58)ey2, 12.2(58)ez, 12.2(58)se (+609)
Cisco IOS XE: 3.2.0se, 3.2.1se, 3.2.2se, 3.2.3se, 3.3.0se, 3.3.0sg (+375)

References

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