Improper signature verification in Cisco Emergency Responder
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass, Privilege escalation
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-347 and CWE-269.
Summary
A vulnerability in Cisco Emergency Responder, Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (Unified CM SME), and Cisco Unity Connection could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privileges to root on an affected device. This vulnerability exists because the application does not properly restrict the files that are being used for upgrades. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by providing a crafted upgrade file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid platform administrator credentials on an affected device.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco | Cisco Emergency Responder | 12.5(1)SU4; 12.5(1)SU8a; 14SU3 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| Cisco | Cisco Unity Connection | 12.5(1)SU6; 12.5(1)SU7; 12.5(1)SU8; 14SU2; 14SU3 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| Cisco | Cisco Unified Communications Manager | 12.5(1)SU8 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- Cisco Emergency Responder VendorCisco Affected 12.5(1)SU4; 12.5(1)SU8a; 14SU3 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- Cisco Unity Connection VendorCisco Affected 12.5(1)SU6; 12.5(1)SU7; 12.5(1)SU8; 14SU2; 14SU3 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- Cisco Unified Communications Manager VendorCisco Affected 12.5(1)SU8 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 10
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:emergency_responder:12.5.1su4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 12.5.1su4 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:emergency_responder:12.5.1su8a:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 12.5.1su8a | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:emergency_responder:14su3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 14su3 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unified_communications_manager:12.5.1su8:*:*:*:-:*:*:* | 12.5.1su8 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unified_communications_manager:12.5.1su8:*:*:*:session_management:*:*:* | 12.5.1su8 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:12.5\(1\)su6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 12.5(1)su6 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:12.5\(1\)su7:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 12.5(1)su7 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:12.5\(1\)su8:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 12.5(1)su8 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:14su2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 14su2 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:14su3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 14su3 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:emergency_responder:12.5.1su4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 12.5.1su4 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:emergency_responder:12.5.1su8a:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 12.5.1su8a Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:emergency_responder:14su3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 14su3 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unified_communications_manager:12.5.1su8:*:*:*:-:*:*:* Versions 12.5.1su8 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unified_communications_manager:12.5.1su8:*:*:*:session_management:*:*:* Versions 12.5.1su8 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:12.5\(1\)su6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 12.5(1)su6 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:12.5\(1\)su7:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 12.5(1)su7 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:12.5\(1\)su8:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 12.5(1)su8 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:14su2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 14su2 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:14su3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 14su3 Vulnerable ·Cisco
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-20266
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-4hj2-qwwr-pxg3
References
Advisory 1
More Cisco Emergency Responder vulnerabilities
- TI-2021-19919 Apache Log4j2 JNDI features do not protect against attacker controlled LDAP and other JNDI related endpoints KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2005-00319 Multiple TCP implementations with Protection Against Wrapped Sequence Numbers (PAWS) with… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 5.0
- TI-2023-06808 Hard-coded credentials in Cisco Emergency Responder CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2017-09109 Improper authentication in Cisco Voice Operating System CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2008-01106 The Disaster Recovery Framework (DRF) master server in Cisco Unified Communications… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
- TI-2004-01636 The default installation of Cisco voice products, when running the IBM Director Agent on… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
Sources
- CVE-2023-20266 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-20266 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-4hj2-qwwr-pxg3 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences