CVE-2023-20040
A vulnerability in the NETCONF service of Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) could allow...
A vulnerability in the NETCONF service of Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) on an affected system that is running as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must be a member of the admin group. This vulnerability exists because user-supplied input is not properly validated when NETCONF is used to upload packages to an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a specially crafted package file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to write crafted files to arbitrary locations on the filesystem or delete arbitrary files from the filesystem of an affected device, resulting in a DoS condition. Note: By default, during install, Cisco NSO will be set up to run as the root user unless the --run-as-user option is used.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
5.5
A vulnerability in the NETCONF service of Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) on an affected system that is running as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must be a member of the admin group. This vulnerability exists because user-supplied input is not properly validated when NETCONF is used to upload packages to an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a specially crafted package file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to write crafted files to arbitrary locations on the filesystem or delete arbitrary files from the filesystem of an affected device, resulting in a DoS condition. Note: By default, during install, Cisco NSO will be set up to run as the root user unless the --run-as-user option is used.
- Record
CVE-2023-20040- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-23
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-24219
5.5
A vulnerability in the NETCONF service of Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) on an affected system that is running as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must be a member of the admin group. This vulnerability exists because user-supplied input is not properly validated when NETCONF is used to upload packages to an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a specially crafted package file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to write crafted files to arbitrary locations on the filesystem or delete arbitrary files from the filesystem of an affected device, resulting in a DoS condition. Note: By default, during install, Cisco NSO will be set up to run as the root user unless the --run-as-user option is used.
- Record
EUVD-2023-24219- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-v96g-9h62-76pj
5.5
A vulnerability in the NETCONF service of Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) could allow...
A vulnerability in the NETCONF service of Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) on an affected system that is running as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must be a member of the admin group. This vulnerability exists because user-supplied input is not properly validated when NETCONF is used to upload packages to an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a specially crafted package file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to write crafted files to arbitrary locations on the filesystem or delete arbitrary files from the filesystem of an affected device, resulting in a DoS condition. Note: By default, during install, Cisco NSO will be set up to run as the root user unless the --run-as-user option is used.
- Record
GHSA-v96g-9h62-76pj- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-23, CWE-434
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
5.5
A vulnerability in the NETCONF service of Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) on an affected system that is running as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must be a member of the admin group. This vulnerability exists because user-supplied input is not properly validated when NETCONF is used to upload packages to an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a specially crafted package file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to write crafted files to arbitrary locations on the filesystem or delete arbitrary files from the filesystem of an affected device, resulting in a DoS condition. Note: By default, during install, Cisco NSO will be set up to run as the root user unless the --run-as-user option is used.
- Record
CVE-2023-20040- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-23, CWE-434
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-20040 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.5) in Cisco Network Services Orchestrator, published January 19, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.28%, the 70th percentile. No source names a fixed version.