Security Resilience

CVE-2023-20123

Auth Bypass in Cisco Duo ≤ 2.0.1

Published
05 April 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0025 15th percentile
Risk Priority 45 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-2023-20123 is a medium-severity Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay (CWE-294) vulnerability in Cisco Duo. Its CVSS base score is 6.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Protocol or Service Impersonation (T1001.003); ranked at the 15th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability in the offline access mode of Cisco Duo Two-Factor Authentication for macOS and Duo Authentication for Windows Logon and RDP could allow an unauthenticated, physical attacker to replay valid user session credentials and gain unauthorized access to an…

more

affected macOS or Windows device. This vulnerability exists because session credentials do not properly expire. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by replaying previously used multifactor authentication (MFA) codes to bypass MFA protection. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain unauthorized access to the affected device.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
T1003.008 /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump the contents of <code>/etc/passwd</code> and <code>/etc/shadow</code> to enable offline password cracking.
T1006 Direct Volume Access Stealth
Adversaries may directly access a volume to bypass file access controls and file system monitoring.
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-20301Same product: Cisco Duo Authentication For Windows Logon And Rdp
CVE-2025-20258Same product: Cisco Duo
CVE-2023-20199Same product: Cisco Duo
CVE-2024-20292Same product: Cisco Duo Authentication For Windows Logon And Rdp
CVE-2024-46041Shared CWE-294
CVE-2024-49595Shared CWE-294
CVE-2026-73431Shared CWE-294
CVE-2026-17045Shared CWE-294
CVE-2024-38438Shared CWE-294
CVE-2026-34021Shared CWE-294

Affected Assets

cisco
duo
≤ 2.0.1
cisco
duo authentication for windows logon and rdp
≤ 4.2.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V10.4.16
  • V10.5.1

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.

addresses: CWE-294

Allows detection of capture-replay attacks by showing the replayed logon's timestamp as the last logon.

addresses: CWE-294

Protects against replay of captured session tokens or credentials by requiring authenticated, fresh session channels.

addresses: CWE-294

Wireless link protections commonly incorporate replay protection, reducing the exploitability of capture-replay weaknesses.

addresses: CWE-294

Accurate synchronized time enables tight timestamp windows that directly limit capture-replay windows in authentication protocols.

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.

DE.CM-01 partial match
blocks

Network monitoring may detect anomalous replays after the fact but does not prevent the design flaw.

PR.AA-03 partial match
blocks

Strong authentication methods can reduce replay risk but do not inherently address captured messages.

PR.AA-04 partial match
blocks

Protecting and verifying identity assertions prevents replay of captured authentication material.

PR.DS-02 partial match
blocks

Encryption and integrity protections for data-in-transit directly block capture-replay of credentials or tokens.

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.

removes
removes
removes
removes
removes

References