CVE-2022-20855

A vulnerability in the self-healing functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for Embedded Wireless Controllers on Catalyst Access Points could allow an authenticated, local attacker to escape the restricted controller shell and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of the access point. This vulnerability is due to improper checks throughout the restart of certain system processes. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging on to an affected device and executing certain CLI commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying OS as root. To successfully exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need valid credentials for a privilege level 15 user of the wireless controller.

• CWE-266
• CWE-78

• https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ewc-priv-esc-nderYLtKVendor Advisory
• https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ewc-priv-esc-nderYLtKVendor Advisory

Published

Sep 30, 2022

Last Modified

Jun 17, 2026

Status

Modified

• How Strix found a critical auth bypass in etcdStrix autonomously discovered a critical authentication bypass in etcd, later designated CVE-2026-33413.
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