What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-20729?

CVE-2022-20729 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.3%.

Firepower Threat Defense CVE-2022-20729

HIGH

XML Injection (aka Blind XPath Injection) (CWE-91)

2022-05-03 psirt@cisco.com

Cisco Code Injection Firepower Threat Defense

7.8

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-91 OWASP Top 10:2025 A05:2025 - Injection ASVS 5.0 V1 - Encoding and Sanitization XPath query parameterization
Impact	CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	Successful exploitation could compromise the high-severity affected system.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).

No patch listed yet 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

A vulnerability in CLI of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject XML into the command parser. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-91. A vulnerability in CLI of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject XML into the command parser. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by including crafted input in commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject XML into the command parser, which could result in unexpected processing of the command and unexpected command output. Affected products include: Cisco Firepower Threat Defense.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH

AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

DescriptionNVD

A vulnerability in CLI of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject XML into the command parser. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by including crafted input in commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject XML into the command parser, which could result in unexpected processing of the command and unexpected command output.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.3%

Top 83% exploitable

Data Quality

3 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

VulDB

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 No

EPSS 0.3%

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

Defer

Exploitation· derived

None

System Exposure· derived

Small

Automatable· derived

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: 0

CVSS: +39

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Code Injection CRITICAL

Code injection occurs when an application accepts user input and passes it directly into a language interpreter or evaluator without proper sanitization.