CVE-2023-20272
Cisco Identity Services Engine 3.0.0 … 3.1
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:LCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-20272 is a medium-severity Improper Protection of Alternate Path (CWE-424) vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine. Its CVSS base score is 6.7 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked in the top 42% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-24451
Vulnerability Data
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to upload malicious files to the web root of the application. This vulnerability is due to insufficient file input validation. An attacker…
more
could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a malicious file to the web interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to replace files and gain access to sensitive server-side information.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
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.
Documenting requirements and authorizing remote access ensures proper protection of alternate paths.
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.
Access control policy directly requires protection of all entry points to restricted functionality.
Managing access rights must cover every alternate path that could bypass intended restrictions.
Privileged access rights must be enforced on every possible route to privileged functions.
Secure development lifecycle includes design reviews that should identify and close alternate paths.
A.8.27 mandates security-by-design, defence-in-depth, least privilege, default-deny, fail-securely, distrust-external-input, assume-breach and zero-trust principles plus explicit design reviews against known attack patterns; these directly close most alternate-path bypasses (e.g. by enforcing consistent authorization on every path), leaving only the bounded remainder of paths that arise from incomplete requirements or post-design code changes.
Secure coding practices reduce the likelihood of unprotected alternate paths in source code.
Hardening callouts derived
DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.
- No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-424, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.