Summary

• A vulnerability in an API endpoint of Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) and Cisco Cloud Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (Cloud APIC) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with Administrator read-only credentials to elevate privileges on an affected system.

  This vulnerability is due to an insufficient role-based access control (RBAC). An attacker with Administrator read-only credentials could exploit this vulnerability by sending a specific API request using an app with admin write credentials. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to Administrator with write privileges on the affected device.

  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-capic-chvul-CKfGYBh8

Affected Products

• Vulnerable Products

  This vulnerability affects Cisco APIC and Cisco Cloud APIC devices if they have installed and enabled apps with admin write privileges.

  To determine if a device has admin write enabled apps, do the following:

  1. Open the web UI and click the Apps tab.
  2. Hover the mouse pointer over an installed and enabled app (Open is displayed). Four icons will appear in the upper right.
  3. Click the left-most icon to see the Permissions and Permission Level of the app. If Permissions:admin and Permission Level:write are displayed, the device is affected by this vulnerability.

  For information about which Cisco software releases are vulnerable, see the Fixed Software section of this advisory.

  Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable

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

Workarounds

• There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability. However, administrators may disable or remove all apps with admin write privileges enabled.

  To disable or remove these apps, do the following:

  1. Open the web UI and click the Apps tab.
  2. Hover the mouse pointer over an installed and enabled app (Open is displayed). Four icons will appear in the upper right.
  3. To disable the app, click the icon that is a circle with a line. To remove the app, click the icon that is an X.

  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

• Cisco has released free software updates that address the vulnerabilities described in this advisory. Customers may only install and expect support for software versions and feature sets for which they have purchased a license. By installing, downloading, accessing, or otherwise using such software upgrades, customers agree to follow the terms of the Cisco software license:
  https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/end-user-license-agreement.html

  Additionally, customers may only download software for which they have a valid license, procured from Cisco directly, or through a Cisco authorized reseller or partner. In most cases this will be a maintenance upgrade to software that was previously purchased. Free security software updates do not entitle customers to a new software license, additional software feature sets, or major revision upgrades.

  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.

  Customers Without Service Contracts

  Customers who purchase directly from Cisco but do not hold a Cisco service contract and customers who make purchases through third-party vendors but are unsuccessful in obtaining fixed software through their point of sale should obtain upgrades by contacting the Cisco TAC: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/web/tsd-cisco-worldwide-contacts.html

  Customers should have the product serial number available and be prepared to provide the URL of this advisory as evidence of entitlement to a free upgrade.

  Fixed Releases

  In the following table(s), the left column lists Cisco software releases. The right column indicates whether a release is affected by the vulnerability described in this advisory and the first release that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Customers are advised to upgrade to an appropriate fixed software release as indicated in this section.

  Cisco APIC or Cisco Cloud APIC Software Release	First Fixed Release
  Earlier than 3.2	Migrate to a fixed release.
  3.2	3.2(10f)
  4.0	Migrate to a fixed release.
  4.1	Migrate to a fixed release.
  4.2	4.2(7l)
  5.0	Migrate to a fixed release.
  5.1	Migrate to a fixed release.
  5.2	5.2(2f)

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

• This vulnerability was found during internal security testing by Arthur Vidineyev of the Cisco Advanced Security Initiatives Group (ASIG).

URL

• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-capic-chvul-CKfGYBh8

Revision History

• Version	Description	Section	Status	Date
  1.2	Reverted to the original CVSS score.	Header	Final	2022-JUN-07
  1.1	Updated the vulnerability source.	Source	Final	2022-MAR-08
  1.0	Initial public release.	-	Final	2021-AUG-25

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