CVE-2023-20082

A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches could allow an authenticated, local attacker with level-15 privileges or an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the device to execute persistent code at boot time and break the chain of trust. This vulnerability is due to errors that occur when retrieving the public release key that is used for image signature verification. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by modifying specific variables in the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) flash memory of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute persistent code on the underlying operating system. Note: In Cisco IOS XE Software releases 16.11.1 and later, the complexity of an attack using this vulnerability is high. However, an attacker with level-15 privileges could easily downgrade the Cisco IOS XE Software on a device to a release that would lower the attack complexity.

• CWE-78

• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-c9300-spi-ace-yejYgnNQVendor Advisory
• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-c9300-spi-ace-yejYgnNQVendor Advisory

Published

Mar 23, 2023

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.
• Autonomous PentestingAI agents that find and validate exploitable vulnerabilities like this one across your applications.
• PR ReviewsPentest every pull request so vulnerable code is caught before it ships to production.
• AI Penetration TestingHow AI-driven penetration testing continuously covers your attack surface.

• CVE-2023-20077Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interfa…6.5
• CVE-2023-20078Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interfa…9.8
• CVE-2023-20079Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interfa…7.5
• CVE-2023-2008A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's udmabuf device driver…8.2
• CVE-2023-20080A vulnerability in the IPv6 DHCP version 6 (DHCPv6) relay an…7.5
• CVE-2023-20081A vulnerability in the IPv6 DHCP (DHCPv6) client module of C…5.9
• CVE-2023-20083A vulnerability in ICMPv6 inspection when configured with th…8.6
• CVE-2023-20084A vulnerability in the endpoint software of Cisco Secure End…4.4
• CVE-2023-20085A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cis…6.1
• CVE-2023-20086A vulnerability in ICMPv6 processing of Cisco Adaptive Secur…8.6
• CVE-2023-20087Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interfa…6.5
• CVE-2023-20088A vulnerability in the nginx configurations that are provide…7.5