CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2023-20012 — Cisco Nexus 93180Yc-Fx3S Firmware security vulnerability

Medium CVSS 5.3

A vulnerability in the CLI console login authentication of Cisco Nexus 9300-FX3 Series Fabric Extender (FEX) when used in UCS Fabric Interconnect deployments could allow an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to bypass authentication. This vulnerability is due to the improper implementation of the password validation function. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the console port on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass authentication and execute a limited set of commands local to the FEX, which could cause a device reboot and denial of service (DoS) condition.

Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.3 (3.1)
Published
2023-02-23
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-287

Affected products

  • cisco / nexus_93180yc-fx3s_firmware
  • cisco / nexus_93180yc-fx3_firmware
  • cisco / ucs_central_software
  • cisco / ucs_6536_firmware
  • cisco / ucs_64108_firmware
  • cisco / ucs_6454_firmware

Showing 6 representative product identities from 8 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Authentication bypass and missing authentication

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Check exposure

  • Map every affected endpoint and protocol path, including alternate ports, legacy routes, recovery flows, service accounts, and machine-to-machine access.
  • Confirm which deployments enable the affected authentication mode and whether the interface is reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Review session, token, credential, and proxy trust configuration without attempting account takeover.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the supported fix and centralize fail-closed authentication before protected request handling.
  • Remove default or embedded credentials, rotate affected secrets and sessions, and bind authentication decisions to the intended audience and channel.
  • Add negative tests for alternate routes, malformed or absent credentials, recovery flows, and proxy-derived identity.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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