CVE-2022-20824

High
8.8
0.05.010.0
Year
2022
Published
Aug 25, 2022
Known Affected Devices
0
CVSS Score
8.8

What is CVE-2022-20824?

A vulnerability in the Cisco Discovery Protocol feature of Cisco FXOS Software and Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to execute arbitrary code with root privileges or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper input validation of specific values that are within a Cisco Discovery Protocol message. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious Cisco Discovery Protocol packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with root privileges or cause the Cisco Discovery Protocol process to crash and restart multiple times, which would cause the affected device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. Note: Cisco Discovery Protocol is a Layer 2 protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be in the same broadcast domain as the affected device (Layer 2 adjacent).

CVSS Vector Breakdown

CVSS 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AV
Attack Vector
Adjacent

Exploitable from an adjacent network (e.g. same LAN, Wi-Fi segment, Bluetooth).

AC
Attack Complexity
Low

No special conditions required. Exploit can be performed reliably and repeatedly.

PR
Privileges Required
None

No authentication required. Any anonymous user can exploit this vulnerability.

UI
User Interaction
None

No user interaction required. Exploit runs without any victim action.

S
Scope
Unchanged

Exploiting the vulnerability only affects the vulnerable component itself.

C
Confidentiality Impact
High

Complete loss of confidentiality. All data on the component may be exposed.

I
Integrity Impact
High

Complete loss of integrity. Attacker can modify any file or data on the component.

A
Availability Impact
High

Complete denial of service. The component becomes fully unavailable.

Known Affected Devices

FAQ

How severe is CVE-2022-20824?

CVE-2022-20824 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated as High. This is a high severity vulnerability and should be patched as soon as possible.

What does the CVSS score mean for CVE-2022-20824?

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) rates vulnerability severity from 0.0 to 10.0. CVE-2022-20824 scores 8.8/10 (High). Scores 9.0–10.0 are Critical, 7.0–8.9 are High, 4.0–6.9 are Medium, and below 4.0 are Low.

Which devices are affected by CVE-2022-20824?

The list of devices confirmed to be affected by CVE-2022-20824 is shown in the "Affected Devices" section above. Check your firmware version against the vendor security advisory and apply the latest patch.

How do I fix or mitigate CVE-2022-20824?

Apply the latest firmware or software update from the vendor. Check the References section above for official advisories and patch notes. If no patch is available, consider disabling the affected feature or isolating the device from untrusted networks.