Security Resilience

CVE-2023-20043

Cisco Cx Cloud Agent ≤ 1.9

Published
20 January 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0021 11th percentile
Risk Priority 48 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-20043 is a medium-severity Incorrect Ownership Assignment (CWE-708) vulnerability in Cisco Cx Cloud Agent. Its CVSS base score is 6.7 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Services File Permissions Weakness (T1574.010); ranked at the 11th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability in Cisco CX Cloud Agent of could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate their privileges. This vulnerability is due to insecure file permissions. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by calling the script with sudo. A successful…

more

exploit could allow the attacker to take complete control of the affected device.

CWE(s)
CWE-708CWE-276

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1574.010 Services File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-20044Same product: Cisco Cx Cloud Agent
CVE-2023-20178Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20093Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20092Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20091Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2020-3153Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2024-20430Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2020-3433Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20004Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20008Same vendor: Cisco

Affected Assets

cisco
cx cloud agent
2.2 · ≤ 1.9

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

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Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

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Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 11 hardening rules · 5 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

AC-1 Policy and Procedures
addresses: CWE-276

Access control policy can specify and enforce secure default permissions for resources.

AC-6 Least Privilege
addresses: CWE-276

Guides setting of default permissions to the minimum required level.

CM-1 Policy and Procedures
addresses: CWE-276

Establishes requirements for appropriate default permissions on system resources as part of configuration management.

CM-2 Baseline Configuration
addresses: CWE-276

Baseline establishment and updates on install/upgrade ensure correct default permissions rather than insecure ones.

CM-6 Configuration Settings
addresses: CWE-276

Requiring the most restrictive settings instead of defaults prevents incorrect default permissions on resources.

CM-9 Configuration Management Plan
addresses: CWE-276

Requires documented processes that include setting and maintaining correct default permissions for configuration items.

PE-1 Policy and Procedures
addresses: CWE-276

Requires addressing secure default permissions in physical and environmental protection controls.

PL-11 Baseline Tailoring
addresses: CWE-276

Tailoring explicitly overrides or scopes default permission assignments in the baseline to match the system's actual risk and operational needs.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.AM-08 partial match
blocks

Lifecycle management can encompass permission settings, yet the control is too broad to specifically mitigate incorrect defaults.

PR.AA-05 partial match
blocks

Defining, enforcing and reviewing access permissions and entitlements directly addresses correct ownership assignment for resources.

PR.PS-01 partial match
blocks

Hardened baselines and configuration management explicitly require correct default file permissions.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices include establishing secure defaults, but address only the development-phase portion of the weakness.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
blocks

A.5.15 only requires defining a topic-specific access control policy and determining requirements; it does not itself enforce rules or stop exploitation of incorrect ownership assignment

A.5.16 Identity management partial match
degrades

Identity-management processes define who may own resources, yet do not guarantee correct assignment at creation time.

A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
blocks

Access-rights provisioning includes ownership assignment; fixing CWE-708 directly supports this control's intent.

A.5.2 Information security roles and responsibilities partial match
blocks

Role definitions can require ownership accountability, but the control itself does not address technical assignment errors.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

RHEL 7 (1 rule)
  • V-204392 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the file permissions, ownership, and group membership of system files and commands match the vendor values. blocks CWE-708
Windows Server 2016 (2 rules)
  • V-224833 Permissions for program file directories must conform to minimum requirements. blocks CWE-276
  • V-224834 Permissions for the Windows installation directory must conform to minimum requirements. blocks CWE-276
Windows Server 2019 (2 rules)
  • V-205735 Windows Server 2019 permissions for program file directories must conform to minimum requirements. blocks CWE-276
  • V-205736 Windows Server 2019 permissions for the Windows installation directory must conform to minimum requirements. blocks CWE-276

References