CVE-2023-20046
HIGHDescription
A vulnerability in the key-based SSH authentication feature of Cisco StarOS Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privileges on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied credentials. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a valid low-privileged SSH key to an affected device from a host that has an IP address that is configured as the source for a high-privileged user account. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to the affected device through SSH as a high-privileged user. There are workarounds that address this vulnerability.
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Moderate risk: more likely to be exploited than 55% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-289 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-56511 | Critical | 9.8 | 44% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2021-34746 | Critical | 9.8 | 18% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2017-16590 | High | 8.8 | 3.3% | - | - |
| CVE-2026-48618 | Medium | 6.5 | 3.2% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2025-55130 | Critical | 9.1 | 1.6% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2026-44492 | High | 8.6 | 0.9% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2023-20046?
Upgrade staros to 21.28.3 or later.
Is CVE-2023-20046 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2023-20046 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.86% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 55% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2023-20046?
CVE-2023-20046 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2023-20046 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for staros (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2024-11-21.