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CVE-2023-20198· NVD / CVE Program· CNA cisco

Cisco is providing an update for the ongoing investigation into observed exploitation of the web UI feature in Cisco IOS XE Software.

Cisco is providing an update for the ongoing investigation into observed exploitation of the web UI feature in Cisco IOS XE Software. We are updating the list of fixed releases and adding the Software Checker. Our investigation has determined that the actors exploited two previously unknown issues. The attacker first exploited CVE-2023-20198 to gain initial access and issued a privilege 15 command to create a local user and password combination. This allowed the user to log in with normal user access. The attacker then exploited another component of the web UI feature, leveraging the new local user to elevate privilege to root and write the implant to the file system. Cisco has assigned CVE-2023-20273 to this issue. CVE-2023-20198 has been assigned a CVSS Score of 10.0. CVE-2023-20273 has been assigned a CVSS Score of 7.2. Both of these CVEs are being tracked by CSCwh87343.

CriticalCVSS 10.0 · v3.1KEVWeaponized No fix recorded
Published
Oct 16, 2023
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
99.6% · 100th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

100

Now

Patch today or shut off access.

CVSS
40 / 40 · 10.0 / 10
CISA KEV
30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS
30 / 30 · 99.6%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
active
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
10.0
CNA · cisco
10.0
agree

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Actively exploited in the wild

CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Oct 16, 2023. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for government agencies: Oct 20, 2023.

Affected systems

VendorProduct
ciscoios xe
rockwellautomationallen-bradley stratix 5200 firmware
rockwellautomationallen-bradley stratix 5200
rockwellautomationallen-bradley stratix 5800 firmware
rockwellautomationallen-bradley stratix 5800

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • cisco ios xe16.12 and later · before 16.12.10a
  • cisco ios xe17.3 and later · before 17.3.8a
  • cisco ios xe17.6 and later · before 17.6.6a
  • cisco ios xe17.9 and later · before 17.9.4a
  • rockwellautomation allen-bradley stratix 5200 firmwarebefore 17.12.02
  • rockwellautomation allen-bradley stratix 5800 firmwarebefore 17.12.02

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (cisco). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Cisco Cisco IOS XE Software

    • 16.1.1, 16.1.2, 16.1.3, 16.2.1, 16.2.2, 16.3.1, 16.3.2, 16.3.3, 16.3.1a, 16.3.4, 16.3.5, 16.3.5b … (+28)affected

Same product

cisco: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2023-20273A vulnerability in the web UI feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to inject commands with the priKEV
    85Now
  • CVE-2018-0151A vulnerability in the quality of service (QoS) subsystem of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, reKEV
    73This week
  • CVE-2025-20188A vulnerability in the Out-of-Band Access Point (AP) Image Download, the Clean Air Spectral Recording, and the client debug bundles features
    48Plan
  • CVE-2019-12643Cisco REST API Container for IOS XE Software Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
    42Plan
  • CVE-2018-0315A vulnerability in the authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) security services of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthe
    41Plan
  • CVE-2017-12229A vulnerability in the REST API of the web-based user interface (web UI) of Cisco IOS XE 3.1 through 16.5 could allow an unauthenticated, re
    41Plan

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

Weaponized

A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.

Evidence

  • Metasploit module ×3
  • Nuclei detection template ×1
  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×35

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Metasploit moduleauxiliary/admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_cli_exec_cve_2023_20198Cisco IOX XE unauthenticated Command Line Interface (CLI) executionauxiliary2023-10-16
Metasploit moduleauxiliary/admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_os_exec_cve_2023_20273Cisco IOX XE unauthenticated OS command executionauxiliary2023-10-16
Metasploit moduleexploit/linux/misc/cisco_ios_xe_rceCisco IOX XE Unauthenticated RCE Chainexploit2023-10-16
Nuclei detection templateNuclei template CVE-2023-20198 —
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02023-10-17
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:202023-10-17
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:12023-10-17
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:12023-10-17
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:332023-10-17
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02023-10-18
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:112023-10-18
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:22023-10-18

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Metasploit-1 d
  2. CISA KEV-1 d
  3. Published
  4. First PoCsame day
  5. TodaySep 29, 2026+1079 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-420 · Unprotected Alternate Channel

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

We use this product, ask for help

Change log

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records