CVE-2022-20914 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies

A vulnerability in the External RESTful Services (ERS) API of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to obtain sensitive information.

Understanding CVE-2022-20914

This CVE describes a vulnerability in the External RESTful Services (ERS) API of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Software, allowing a remote attacker to access sensitive data.

What is CVE-2022-20914?

CVE-2022-20914 is a security flaw in Cisco ISE Software's ERS API, enabling an authenticated attacker to extract confidential information by manipulating specific REST API outputs.

The Impact of CVE-2022-20914

The vulnerability could be exploited by an attacker with valid ERS administrative credentials to retrieve sensitive data, including administrative credentials for an external authentication server. The base CVSS score is 4.9, indicating a medium severity level.

Technical Details of CVE-2022-20914

This section discusses the vulnerability description, affected systems and versions, as well as the exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability stems from excessive verbosity in a particular REST API output, allowing an attacker to craft a malicious HTTP request to extract sensitive information.

Affected Systems and Versions

The vulnerability affects Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Software. All versions are susceptible to this issue.

Exploitation Mechanism

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending a carefully crafted HTTP request to the affected device, leveraging valid ERS administrative credentials.

Mitigation and Prevention

In this section, we will explore immediate steps to take, long-term security practices, and the importance of patching and updates.

Immediate Steps to Take

Organizations should ensure that access to the ERS API is restricted, regular monitoring of network traffic is conducted, and enhanced security controls are implemented.

Long-Term Security Practices

It is recommended to follow the principle of least privilege, conduct security awareness training, implement network segmentation, and regularly update and patch the system.

Patching and Updates

Cisco has released patches to address this vulnerability. Organizations are advised to apply the latest updates promptly to safeguard their systems.