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CVE-2023-20063VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2023-20063: Cisco Firepower Management Center · Code Injection

Affects Cisco Firepower Management CenterSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.2 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:30 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
8.2High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 37% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 1 Nov 2023

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Cisco Cisco Firepower Management CenterAffected
  • =6.2.3.12
  • =6.2.3.1
  • =6.2.3.10
  • =6.2.3.8
  • =6.4.0.6
  • =6.2.3
  • =6.4.0.7
  • =6.2.3.13
  • =6.2.3.5
  • =6.4.0.4
  • =6.2.3.9
  • =6.2.3.14
  • =6.4.0.1
  • =6.2.3.6
  • =6.2.3.11
  • =6.4.0.8
  • =6.2.3.2
  • =6.4.0.2
  • =6.2.3.3
  • =6.4.0.3
  • =6.2.3.7
  • =6.2.3.4
  • =6.4.0.5
  • =6.4.0
  • =6.2.3.15
  • =6.6.0
  • =6.4.0.9
  • =6.2.3.16
  • =6.6.0.1
  • =6.6.1
  • =6.4.0.10
  • =6.7.0
  • =6.4.0.11
  • =6.6.3
  • =6.7.0.1
  • =6.6.4
  • =6.4.0.12
  • =6.7.0.2
  • =7.0.0
  • =6.2.3.17
  • =7.0.0.1
  • =6.6.5
  • =7.0.1
  • =7.1.0
  • =6.6.5.1
  • =6.4.0.13
  • =6.7.0.3
  • =7.0.1.1
  • =6.2.3.18
  • =6.4.0.14
  • =6.6.5.2
  • =7.1.0.1
  • =7.0.2
  • =6.4.0.15
  • =7.2.0
  • =7.0.2.1
  • =7.0.3
  • =6.6.7
  • =7.1.0.2
  • =7.2.0.1
  • =7.0.4
  • =7.2.1
  • =7.0.5
  • =6.4.0.16
  • =7.3.0
  • =7.2.2
  • =6.6.7.1
  • =7.3.1
  • =7.2.3
  • =7.1.0.3
  • =7.2.3.1
  • =7.2.4
  • =7.0.6
  • =7.2.4.1
  • =7.2.5
  • =7.3.1.1
  • =7.4.0
  • =6.4.0.17
  • =7.0.6.1
  • =7.2.5.1
  • =7.4.1
  • =7.2.6
  • =7.4.1.1
  • =7.0.6.2
  • =6.4.0.18
  • =6.6.7.2
  • =7.2.7
  • =7.2.5.2
  • =7.3.1.2
  • =7.2.8
  • =7.2.8.1
Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Apply official Cisco patches and updates as soon as they become available for all affected Firepower Management Center and Threat Defense versions. 2. Restrict administrative access to FMC and FTD devices strictly to trusted personnel and enforce strong multi-factor authentication to reduce risk of credential compromise. 3. Limit network access to expert mode interfaces and inter-device communication channels to trusted management networks only. 4. Implement rigorous monitoring and logging of expert mode access and command execution activities to detect anomalous or unauthorized behavior promptly. 5. Conduct regular audits of user privileges on FMC and FTD devices to ensure least privilege principles are enforced. 6. Segment management networks from general user and internet-facing networks to reduce attack surface. 7. Educate administrators about the risks of this vulnerability and the importance of secure operational practices. 8. Consider deploying intrusion detection/prevention systems to monitor for suspicious inter-device communication patterns indicative of exploitation attempts.

Description

CVE-2023-20063 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability affecting Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) devices. It allows an authenticated local attacker with administrative privileges on either FMC or FTD to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the paired device. The vulnerability arises from insufficient validation of user-supplied input in inter-device communication, enabling command injection via expert mode. Exploitation requires high privileges and no user interaction but can lead to full system compromise, impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability. There are no known exploits in the wild yet, but the broad range of affected versions and critical access level make timely patching essential. European organizations using Cisco Firepower solutions in critical infrastructure or enterprise networks are at risk. Mitigation involves applying Cisco patches when available, restricting administrative access, and monitoring for anomalous expert mode activity. Countries with significant Cisco Firepower deployments and critical infrastructure, such as Germany, France, the UK, and the Netherlands, are most likely to be affected.

References

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