CVEvulnerability

CVE-2023-20273

7.2 HIGH Known exploited Published 2023-10-25 Modified 2026-06-17 Official page ↗

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Cisco IOS XE Web UI Command Injection Vulnerability — Cisco Cisco IOS XE Web UI

Cisco IOS XE contains a command injection vulnerability in the web user interface. When chained with CVE-2023-20198, the attacker can leverage the new local user to elevate privilege to root and write the implant to the file system. Cisco identified CVE-2023-20273 as the vulnerability exploited to deploy the implant. CVE-2021-1435, previously associated with the exploitation events, is no longer believed to be related to this activity.

Added to KEV: 2023-10-23
Remediation due: 2023-10-27
Ransomware use: Unknown
Required action: Verify that instances of Cisco IOS XE Web UI are in compliance with BOD 23-02 and apply mitigations per vendor instructions. For affected products (Cisco IOS XE Web UI exposed to the internet or to untrusted networks), follow vendor instructions to determine if a system may have been compromised and immediately report positive findings to CISA.
Notes: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxe-webui-privesc-j22SaA4z; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20273

Status: Analyzed
Published: 2023-10-25
Last modified: 2026-06-17
Assigner: [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 ([email protected]): 7.2 HIGH — CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 3.1 ([email protected]): 7.2 HIGH — CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weaknesses: CWE-78

Description

A vulnerability in the web UI feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to inject commands with the privileges of root. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted input to the web UI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject commands to the underlying operating system with root privileges.

Affected configurations

• cisco ios xe 16.1.1 • cisco ios xe 16.1.2 • cisco ios xe 16.1.3 • cisco ios xe 16.2.1 • cisco ios xe 16.2.2 • cisco ios xe 16.3.1a • cisco ios xe 16.3.2 • cisco ios xe 16.3.3 • cisco ios xe 16.3.4 • cisco ios xe 16.3.5 • cisco ios xe 16.3.5b • cisco ios xe 16.3.6 • cisco ios xe 16.3.7 • cisco ios xe 16.3.8 • cisco ios xe 16.3.9 • cisco ios xe 16.3.10 • cisco ios xe 16.3.11 • cisco ios xe 16.4.1 • cisco ios xe 16.4.2 • cisco ios xe 16.4.3 • cisco ios xe 16.5.1 • cisco ios xe 16.5.1a • cisco ios xe 16.5.1b • cisco ios xe 16.5.2 • cisco ios xe 16.5.3 • cisco ios xe 16.6.1 • cisco ios xe 16.6.2 • cisco ios xe 16.6.3 • cisco ios xe 16.6.4 • cisco ios xe 16.6.4a • cisco ios xe 16.6.5 • cisco ios xe 16.6.5a • cisco ios xe 16.6.6 • cisco ios xe 16.6.7 • cisco ios xe 16.6.8 • cisco ios xe 16.6.9 • cisco ios xe 16.6.10 • cisco ios xe 16.7.1 • cisco ios xe 16.7.1a • cisco ios xe 16.7.1b • cisco ios xe 16.7.2 • cisco ios xe 16.7.3 • cisco ios xe 16.7.4 • cisco ios xe 16.8.1 • cisco ios xe 16.8.1a • cisco ios xe 16.8.1b • cisco ios xe 16.8.1c • cisco ios xe 16.8.1d • cisco ios xe 16.8.1e • cisco ios xe 16.8.1s • cisco ios xe 16.8.2 • cisco ios xe 16.8.3 • cisco ios xe 16.9.1 • cisco ios xe 16.9.1a • cisco ios xe 16.9.1b • cisco ios xe 16.9.1s • cisco ios xe 16.9.2 • cisco ios xe 16.9.3 • cisco ios xe 16.9.3a • cisco ios xe 16.9.4 … and 129 more

Weakness · CWE (1)

CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command weakness

References