CVE-2022-20864
MediumWhat is CVE-2022-20864?
A vulnerability in the password-recovery disable feature of Cisco IOS XE ROM Monitor (ROMMON) Software for Cisco Catalyst Switches could allow an unauthenticated, local attacker to recover the configuration or reset the enable password. This vulnerability is due to a problem with the file and boot variable permissions in ROMMON. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by rebooting the switch into ROMMON and entering specific commands through the console. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to read any file or reset the enable password.
CVSS Vector Breakdown
CVSS 3.1Requires physical presence — attacker must physically touch the device (e.g. USB port).
No special conditions required. Exploit can be performed reliably and repeatedly.
No authentication required. Any anonymous user can exploit this vulnerability.
No user interaction required. Exploit runs without any victim action.
Exploiting the vulnerability only affects the vulnerable component itself.
Complete loss of confidentiality. All data on the component may be exposed.
No integrity impact. Data cannot be modified.
No availability impact. Service remains fully operational.
Known Affected Devices
FAQ
CVE-2022-20864 has a CVSS score of 4.6/10, rated as Medium. Review the affected products list and apply vendor patches.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) rates vulnerability severity from 0.0 to 10.0. CVE-2022-20864 scores 4.6/10 (Medium). 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.
The list of devices confirmed to be affected by CVE-2022-20864 is shown in the "Affected Devices" section above. Check your firmware version against the vendor security advisory and apply the latest patch.
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.