CVE-2023-20118
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Small Business Routers RV016, RV042, RV042G, RV082, RV320, and RV325 Routers could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user input within incoming HTTP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to the web-based management interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain root-level privileges and access unauthorized data. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to have valid administrative credentials on the affected device. Cisco has not and will not release software updates that address this vulnerability. However, administrators may disable the affected feature as described in the Workarounds ["#workarounds"] section. {{value}} ["%7b%7bvalue%7d%7d"])}]]
do firstApply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Can a WAF block it? Partly. The attack is delivered via crafted HTTP requests to the router's web management interface, which requires valid admin credentials. The malicious input is unusual but may resemble normal admin requests, making it partly filterable by a WAF. A custom WAF rule can filter crafted HTTP requests with improper user input in the web management interface, but attackers can vary the request. No tracked WAF vendor has published a rule for this CVE yet.
What a custom rule would match: crafted HTTP requests with improper user input in the web management interface
Also consider: patch · custom WAF rule · input validation · RASP
Based on an AI reading of the CVE description, and no vendor rule found yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Is CVE-2023-20118 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2023-20118 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2023-20118?
CVE-2023-20118 is rated Medium with a CVSS score of 6.5. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2023-20118?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2023-20118. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2023-20118 affect?
CVE-2023-20118 affects cisco:rv016_firmware, cisco:rv042_firmware, cisco:rv042g_firmware, cisco:rv082_firmware, and 2 further products or versions. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
- affected1.0.1.17
- affected1.0.2.03
- affected1.1.0.09
- affected1.1.1.19
- affected1.1.1.06
- affected1.2.1.13
- affected1.2.1.14
- affected1.3.1.12
- affected1.3.2.02
- affected1.3.1.10
- affected1.4.2.15
- affected1.4.2.17
- affected1.4.2.19
- affected1.4.2.20
- affected1.4.2.22
- affected1.5.1.05
- affected1.5.1.11
- affected1.5.1.13
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
cisa ssvc
- exploitation
- active
- automatable
- no
- technical impact
- total
Assessed by CISA 3 Mar 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3).
timeline
- 13 Apr 2023Published
- 3 Mar 2025Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild) · 690 days (about 2 years) later
- 3 Mar 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active · 1 day later
- 24 Mar 2025CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies) · 20 days later
- 21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated · 212 days (about 7 months) later
- 2 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com · 377 days (about 1 year) later
- Linksec.cloudapps.cisco.com /security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sbr042-multi-vuln-ej76Pk
- Linkcisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-20118
sources
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.