Cisco NX-OS Software NX-API Command Injection (CVE-2022-20650)

high Tenable OT Security Plugin ID 501279

Synopsis

The remote OT asset is affected by a vulnerability.

Description

A vulnerability in the NX-API feature of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of user supplied data that is sent to the NX-API. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP POST request to the NX-API of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the underlying operating system. Note: The NX-API feature is disabled by default.

This plugin only works with Tenable.ot.
Please visit https://www.tenable.com/products/tenable-ot for more information.

Solution

Refer to the vendor advisory.

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 501279

Version: 1.2

Type: remote

Family: Tenable.ot

Published: 7/25/2023

Updated: 10/16/2025

Supported Sensors: Tenable OT Security

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 5.9

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 9

Temporal Score: 6.7

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2022-20650

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 8.8

Temporal Score: 7.7

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:cisco:nexus_5000_series_switches, cpe:/o:cisco:nexus_3000_series_switches, cpe:/o:cisco:nexus_9000_series_switches, cpe:/o:cisco:nexus_6000_series_switches

Required KB Items: Tenable.ot/Cisco

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 2/23/2022

Vulnerability Publication Date: 2/23/2022

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2022-20650

CWE: 78

Detections

Analytics