VulnerabilityPublished 17 Jan 2024Updated 2 Jun 2025

CVE-2023-20258: Cisco Prime Infrastructure

Affects Cisco Prime InfrastructureSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 52% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 17 Jan 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Cisco Cisco Prime Infrastructure	Affected 2.0.0 – 3.10.4 58 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Immediate credential hygiene: Ensure that only trusted administrators have access to Cisco Prime Infrastructure and enforce strong, unique passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA) where possible to reduce the risk of credential compromise.
Network segmentation: Isolate the Cisco Prime Infrastructure management interface from general user networks and restrict access to it via network access controls and firewalls to limit exposure to only authorized personnel.
Monitor and audit: Implement continuous monitoring and logging of access and activities on Cisco Prime Infrastructure to detect suspicious behavior or unauthorized uploads of documents.
Patch management: Regularly check Cisco's official security advisories and promptly apply patches or updates once released to remediate this vulnerability.
Input validation and file upload restrictions: Where possible, configure the application or surrounding infrastructure to restrict or validate file uploads to prevent malicious serialized Java objects from being processed.
Incident response readiness: Prepare and test incident response plans specifically for network management platform compromises, including isolating affected systems and credential resets.
Least privilege principle: Limit the privileges of accounts used to interact with Cisco Prime Infrastructure to the minimum necessary to reduce the impact of any compromise. These recommendations go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control, monitoring, and operational practices tailored to the nature of this vulnerability and the criticality of the affected product.

Description

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Prime Infrastructure could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to improper processing of serialized Java objects by the affected application. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a document containing malicious serialized Java objects to be processed by the affected application. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the application to execute arbitrary commands.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be significant due to the critical role Cisco Prime Infrastructure plays in managing network devices and infrastructure. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to gain control over the management platform, leading to unauthorized access to network configurations, interception or manipulation of network traffic, and potential disruption of network operations. The confidentiality of sensitive network data and integrity of network configurations could be compromised, increasing the risk of further attacks such as lateral movement, data exfiltration, or persistent backdoors. Since the vulnerability requires authenticated access with high privileges, insider threats or compromised credentials pose a substantial risk. European organizations in sectors with stringent regulatory requirements (e.g., finance, healthcare, critical infrastructure) could face compliance violations and reputational damage if exploited. Additionally, the broad range of affected versions means many organizations may be running vulnerable instances unknowingly. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk, but the potential for weaponization remains, especially given the attractiveness of network management platforms as high-value targets.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-pi-epnm-wkZJeyeq (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Jul 2025, 17:28 UTC

Technical details

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