CVE-2023-20266

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.

Published: 2023-08-30 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-20266 is rated Low Risk (32.3/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.06%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-20266

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-11-29 0.04% 0.06% +0.02%
2 2025-11-21 0.07% 0.04% -0.03%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.07% —

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-20266

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 1.2 5.2 [email protected]
7.2 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.2 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-20266

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-20266

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco emergency_responder 12.5.1su4 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:emergency_responder:12.5.1su4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco emergency_responder 12.5.1su8a cpe:2.3:a:cisco:emergency_responder:12.5.1su8a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco emergency_responder 14su3 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:emergency_responder:14su3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco unified_communications_manager 12.5.1su8 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unified_communications_manager:12.5.1su8:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
cisco unified_communications_manager 12.5.1su8 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unified_communications_manager:12.5.1su8:*:*:*:session_management:*:*:*
cisco unity_connection 12.5\(1\)su6 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:12.5\(1\)su6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco unity_connection 12.5\(1\)su7 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:12.5\(1\)su7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco unity_connection 12.5\(1\)su8 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:12.5\(1\)su8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco unity_connection 14su2 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:14su2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco unity_connection 14su3 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:unity_connection:14su3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-20266

cvelogic Threat Intelligence