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Ios Xe CVE-2022-20718

HIGH
Path Traversal (CWE-22)
2022-04-15 psirt@cisco.com
7.2
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 7.2 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could access files and directories outside the intended path by sending crafted requests to the affected application.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 2.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Multiple vulnerabilities in the Cisco IOx application hosting environment on multiple Cisco platforms could allow an attacker to inject arbitrary commands into the underlying host operating system,. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Validate and canonicalize file paths. Use chroot or sandboxing. Reject input containing path separators or '../' sequences.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22), which allows attackers to access files and directories outside the intended path. Multiple vulnerabilities in the Cisco IOx application hosting environment on multiple Cisco platforms could allow an attacker to inject arbitrary commands into the underlying host operating system, execute arbitrary code on the underlying host operating system, install applications without being authenticated, or conduct a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against a user of the affected software. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory. Affected products include: Cisco Ios Xe.

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.2 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

Multiple vulnerabilities in the Cisco IOx application hosting environment on multiple Cisco platforms could allow an attacker to inject arbitrary commands into the underlying host operating system, execute arbitrary code on the underlying host operating system, install applications without being authenticated, or conduct a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against a user of the affected software. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
2.3%
Top 18% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 2.3%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

58
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +2
CVSS: +36
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding.

Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.1a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.5b:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.4.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.5.1a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.5.1b:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
+ 119 more

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