CVE-2023-20273
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.
- CVSS
- 7.2Highscored by the publisher (CNA)
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, in CISA KEV since 23 Oct 2023CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 27 Oct 2023public exploit code
- EPSS
- 92.9%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.2% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 25 Oct 2023analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Do first. 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. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)
Summary
Triage
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco Cisco IOS XE Software | 16.1.116.1.216.1.316.2.116.2.216.3.116.3.216.3.316.3.1a16.3.416.3.516.3.5b16.3.616.3.716.3.816.3.916.3.1016.3.1116.4.116.4.216.4.316.5.116.5.1a16.5.1b16.5.216.5.316.6.116.6.216.6.316.6.416.6.516.6.4a16.6.5a16.6.616.6.716.6.816.6.916.6.1016.7.116.7.1a16.7.1b16.7.216.7.316.7.416.8.116.8.1a16.8.1b16.8.1s16.8.1c16.8.1d16.8.216.8.1e16.8.316.9.116.9.216.9.1a16.9.1b16.9.1s16.9.316.9.416.9.3a16.9.516.9.5f16.9.616.9.716.9.816.10.116.10.1a16.10.1b16.10.1s16.10.1c16.10.1e16.10.1d16.10.216.10.1f16.10.1g16.10.316.11.116.11.1a16.11.1b16.11.216.11.1s16.12.116.12.1s16.12.1a16.12.1c16.12.1w16.12.216.12.1y16.12.2a16.12.316.12.816.12.2s16.12.1x16.12.1t16.12.416.12.3s16.12.3a16.12.4a16.12.516.12.616.12.1z116.12.5a16.12.5b16.12.1z216.12.6a16.12.716.12.916.12.1017.1.117.1.1a17.1.1s17.1.1t17.1.317.2.117.2.1r17.2.1a17.2.1v17.2.217.2.317.3.117.3.217.3.317.3.1a17.3.1w17.3.2a17.3.1x17.3.1z17.3.417.3.517.3.4a17.3.617.3.4b17.3.4c17.3.5a17.3.5b17.3.717.3.817.4.117.4.217.4.1a17.4.1b17.4.2a17.5.117.5.1a17.5.1b17.5.1c17.6.117.6.217.6.1w17.6.1a17.6.1x17.6.317.6.1y17.6.1z17.6.3a17.6.417.6.1z117.6.517.6.617.7.117.7.1a17.7.1b17.7.217.10.117.10.1a17.10.1b17.8.117.8.1a17.9.117.9.1w17.9.217.9.1a17.9.1x17.9.1y17.9.317.9.2a17.9.1x117.9.3a17.9.417.9.1y117.11.117.11.1a17.12.117.12.1a17.11.99SWVendor says fixed in: not stated |
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.
Products named in our analysis
- cisco:ios_xe
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? Partly. OS command injection puts shell syntax into the request. WAF rules catch common shell commands but miss encoded or unusual payloads.
Also consider: shlex/execve-style APIs
Based on the weakness type only; no CVE-specific evidence yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Listed since 23 Oct 2023.
- CISA due date
- 27 Oct 2023, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
- CISA 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.
- Public exploit code
- Yes: 2 Metasploit modules · 1 GitHub proof of concept
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 15 Nov 2023 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
Metasploit
- exploit/linux/misc/cisco_ios_xe_rceexploit, rank excellent
- auxiliary/admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_os_exec_cve_2023_20273auxiliary, rank normal
GitHub proofs of concept
- smokeintheshell/CVE-2023-2027315 stars
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 23 Oct 2023Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)
- 25 Oct 2023Published3 days later
- 27 Oct 2023CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)1 day later
- 15 Nov 2023CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active20 days later
- 9 Dec 2023First public exploit or proof of concept23 days later
- 21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated683 days (about 2 years) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com387 days (about 1 year) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network. | Reachable over the internet or any routable network. |
| Attack complexity | LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions. | Repeatable attack, no special conditions. |
| Privileges required | HighThe attacker needs admin-level privileges. | The attacker needs admin-level privileges. |
| User interaction | NoneNo victim action needed. | No victim action needed. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | HighFull outage possible. | Full outage possible. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2023-20273 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2023-20273 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-2023-20273?
CVE-2023-20273 is rated High with a CVSS score of 7.2. 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-2023-20273?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2023-20273. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2023-20273 affect?
CVE-2023-20273 affects cisco:ios_xe. 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.
References
2 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Other links (2)
- sec.cloudapps.cisco.com /security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxe-webui-privesc-j22S
- cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-20273
Where the data on this page comes from
- 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
- Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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