Summary

• A vulnerability in the web UI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform a directory traversal and access resources that are outside the filesystem mountpoint of the web UI. 

  This vulnerability is due to an insufficient security configuration. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the web UI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain read access to files that are outside the filesystem mountpoint of the web UI.

  Note: These files are located on a restricted filesystem that is maintained for the web UI. There is no ability to write to any files on this filesystem.

  Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

  This advisory is available at the following link:
  https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-webui-pthtrv-es7GSb9V

  This advisory is part of the March 2023 release of the Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication. For a complete list of the advisories and links to them, see Cisco Event Response: March 2023 Semiannual Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication.

Affected Products

• Vulnerable Products

  At the time of publication, this vulnerability affected Cisco IOS XE Software if it had the web UI enabled.

  For information about which Cisco software releases were vulnerable at the time of publication, see the Fixed Software section of this advisory. 

  Determine the HTTP Server Configuration

  To determine whether the HTTP Server feature is enabled for a device, log in to the device and use the show running-config | include ip http server|secure|active command in the CLI to check for the presence of the ip http server command or the ip http secure-server command in the global configuration. If either command is present, the HTTP Server feature is enabled for the device.

  The following example shows the output of the show running-config | include ip http server|secure|active command for a device that has the HTTP Server feature enabled:

  Router# show running-config | include ip http server|secure|active
  ip http server
  ip http secure-server

  Note: The presence of either command or both commands in the device configuration indicates that the web UI feature is enabled.

  If the ip http server command is present and the configuration also contains ip http active-session-modules none, the vulnerability is not exploitable over HTTP.

  If the ip http secure-server command is present and the configuration also contains ip http secure-active-session-modules none, the vulnerability is not exploitable over HTTPS.

  Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable

  Only products listed in the Vulnerable Products section of this advisory are known to be affected by this vulnerability.

  Cisco has confirmed that this vulnerability does not affect the following Cisco products:

  • IOS Software
  • IOS XR Software
  • Meraki products
  • NX-OS Software

Workarounds

• There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

  Disabling the HTTP Server feature eliminates the attack vector for this vulnerability and may be a suitable mitigation until affected devices can be upgraded. To disable the HTTP Server feature, use the no ip http server or no ip http secure-server command in global configuration mode. If both the HTTP server and HTTPS server are in use, both commands are required to disable the HTTP Server feature.

  While this mitigation has been deployed and was proven successful in a test environment, customers should determine the applicability and effectiveness in their own environment and under their own use conditions. Customers should be aware that any workaround or mitigation that is implemented may negatively impact the functionality or performance of their network based on intrinsic customer deployment scenarios and limitations. Customers should not deploy any workarounds or mitigations before first evaluating the applicability to their own environment and any impact to such environment.

Fixed Software

• When considering software upgrades, customers are advised to regularly consult the advisories for Cisco products, which are available from the Cisco Security Advisories page, to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution.

  In all cases, customers should ensure that the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and confirm that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or their contracted maintenance providers.

  Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software

  To help customers determine their exposure to vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software, Cisco provides the Cisco Software Checker. This tool identifies any Cisco security advisories that impact a specific software release and the earliest release that fixes the vulnerabilities that are described in each advisory (“First Fixed”). If applicable, the tool also returns the earliest release that fixes all the vulnerabilities that are described in all the advisories that the Software Checker identifies (“Combined First Fixed”). 

  To use the tool, go to the Cisco Software Checker page and follow the instructions. Alternatively, use the following form to determine whether a release is affected by any Cisco Security Advisory. To use the form, follow these steps:

  1. Choose which advisories the tool will search—only this advisory, only advisories with a Critical or High Security Impact Rating (SIR), or all advisories.
  2. Enter a release number—for example, 15.9(3)M2 or 17.3.3.
  3. Click Check.

   

  Only this advisory All Critical and High advisories All advisories

   

Exploitation and Public Announcements

• The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability that is described in this advisory.

Source

• Cisco would like to thank Elias Ikkelä-Koski for reporting this vulnerability.

URL

• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-webui-pthtrv-es7GSb9V

Revision History

• Version	Description	Section	Status	Date
  1.0	Initial public release.	—	Final	2023-MAR-22

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