CVE-2023-20012

Cisco Nexus 9300-FX3 Series Fabric Extender for UCS Fabric Interconnects Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

MEDIUM
4.6
CVSS Score
Published: February 23, 2023 at 12:00 AM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 05:29 AM UTC
12 products affected across 1 vendorUcs Central SoftwareNexus 93180YC FX3 FirmwareNexus 93180YC FX3S Firmware

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Severity
MEDIUM4.6
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.3%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

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.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

All versions
cisco-nexus-93180yc-fx3 (same device)
All versions
cisco-nexus-93180yc-fx3s (same device)
All versions
cisco-ucs-64108 (same device)
All versions
cisco-ucs-6454 (same device)
All versions
cisco-ucs-6536 (same device)
4.2 ≤ v < 4.2(2d)
Affected range stops below 4.2(2d), so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
cisco-ucs-64108 (same device) · cisco-ucs-6454 (same device) · cisco-ucs-6536 (same device)
All versions
All versions
All versions

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
PHYSICAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-287

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