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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager flaw allows remote server access. Cisco is warning of five new Catalyst SD-WAN Manager products vulnerabilities with the most critical allowing unauthenticated remote access to the server. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager for WAN is network management software allowing admins to visualize, deploy, and manage devices on wide area networks (WAN). The most severe of the disclosed flaws impacting the product is CVE-2023-20252 (CVSS v3.1: 9.8), which allows unauthorized access due to issues with the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) APIs. "A vulnerability in the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) APIs of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain unauthorized access to the application as an arbitrary user," warns the security bulletin. The flaw can be leveraged by sending specially crafted requests directly to the SAML APIs, which generate arbitrary authorization tokens that allow unconditional access to the application. Exploitation of CVE-2023-20252 has the potential for user impersonation, unauthorized data access/modification/deletion, and service disruption. The remaining four vulnerabilities are less severe: It is worth noting that CVE-2023-20034 is also remotely exploitable without requiring authentication. However, its severity is mitigated by the fact that access is limited to the Elasticsearch database with the privileges of the Elasticsearch user. The five flaws impact various versions of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, with more details on the impacted and target upgrade versions below: CVE-2023-20252, which is the most urgent to fix, impacts releases 20.9.3.2 and 20.11.1.2 but does not affect older releases in the 20.9 and 20.11 branches. Catalyst SD-WAN Manager version 20.12, the latest available release, is not impacted by any flaws except for the medium severity one (fixed in 20.12.1), so that's the safest version to upgrade to if possible. Cisco has shared no workarounds for the fixed flaws this time, so the only recommended action is upgrading to a patched release. The vendor clarifies that IOS XE Software, SD-WAN cEdge Routers, and SD-WAN vEdge Routers are not vulnerable. None of the flaws are reported as actively exploited, yet upgrading to the recommended versions should be treated with urgency.

Daily Brief Summary

CYBERCRIME // Five Critical Vulnerabilities Discovered in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager

Cisco has issued a warning regarding five new vulnerabilities identified in its Catalyst SD-WAN Manager products; the most critical one allows unauthorized remote access to servers.

The most severe vulnerability (CVE-2023-20252), scored 9.8 out of 10 by the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), is due to issues with the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) application programming interfaces (APIs). It can be exploited by sending special requests to the SAML APIs, generating authorization tokens and gaining unconditional application access.

The vulnerability opens up the potential for user impersonation, unauthorized data access/modification/deletion, and service disruption.

The remaining vulnerabilities are less severe; CVE-2023-20034 is remotely exploitable without requiring authentication but its severity is minimized as the access is limited to the Elasticsearch database.

The flaws impact various versions of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager; the most crucial one to fix, CVE-2023-20252, affects versions 20.9.3.2 and 20.11.1.2. The latest available version, Catalyst SD-WAN Manager 20.12, is the safest to upgrade to.

Cisco has advised that there are no workarounds available for these fixed flaws, and the only recommended action is to upgrade to a patched release.

Currently, there are no reports of these flaws being actively exploited, but Cisco urged customers to upgrade to the recommended versions urgently.