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CVE-2023-20273VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2023-20273: Cisco IOS XE Software · OS Command Injection

Affects Cisco IOS XE SoftwareSource CVE Database V5

0

Exploited in the wild · KEV due 27 Oct 2023 · public exploit available (Metasploit) · 92% EPSS : apply the vendor's fix or mitigations to Cisco IOS XE Software now.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.2High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
KEV deadline
 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else.
EPSS
92.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 99% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 24 Oct 2023

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: evidence found.

    2 Metasploit modules

  4. Exploited in the wild: evidence found.

    Listed in CISA KEV 1 day before disclosure

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

Timeline

  1. CVE ID reserved

    by cisco

    , 362 days before disclosure

  2. , 1 day before disclosure

  3. CVE published

    on cve.org

    , t = 0

  4. KEV remediation due

    US federal deadline

    , 3 days after disclosure

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CISA KEV (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

What to do

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.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Cisco Cisco IOS XE SoftwareAffected
  • =16.1.1
  • =16.1.2
  • =16.1.3
  • =16.2.1
  • =16.2.2
  • =16.3.1
  • =16.3.2
  • =16.3.3
  • =16.3.4
  • =16.3.5
  • =16.3.6
  • =16.3.7
  • =16.3.8
  • =16.3.9
  • =16.3.10
  • =16.3.11
  • =16.4.1
  • =16.4.2
  • =16.4.3
  • =16.5.1
  • =16.5.2
  • =16.5.3
  • =16.6.1
  • =16.6.2
  • =16.6.3
  • =16.6.4
  • =16.6.5
  • =16.6.6
  • =16.6.7
  • =16.6.8
  • =16.6.9
  • =16.6.10
  • =16.7.1
  • =16.7.2
  • =16.7.3
  • =16.7.4
  • =16.8.1
  • =16.8.2
  • =16.8.3
  • =16.9.1
  • =16.9.2
  • =16.9.3
  • =16.9.4
  • =16.9.5
  • =16.9.6
  • =16.9.7
  • =16.9.8
  • =16.10.1
  • =16.10.2
  • =16.10.3
  • =16.11.1
  • =16.11.2
  • =16.12.1
  • =16.12.2
  • =16.12.3
  • =16.12.8
  • =16.12.4
  • =16.12.5
  • =16.12.6
  • =16.12.7
  • =16.12.9
  • =16.12.10
  • =17.1.1
  • =17.1.3
  • =17.2.1
  • =17.2.1v
  • =17.2.2
  • =17.2.3
  • =17.3.1
  • =17.3.2
  • =17.3.3
  • =17.3.4
  • =17.3.5
  • =17.3.6
  • =17.3.7
  • =17.3.8
  • =17.4.1
  • =17.4.2
  • =17.5.1
  • =17.6.1
  • =17.6.2
  • =17.6.3
  • =17.6.4
  • =17.6.5
  • =17.6.6
  • =17.7.1
  • =17.7.2
  • =17.10.1
  • =17.8.1
  • =17.9.1
  • =17.9.2
  • =17.9.3
  • =17.9.4
  • =17.11.1
  • =17.12.1
  • =17.11.99
Fixed in–

Check the firmware or software version for Cisco IOS XE Software in the device's admin interface against the vendor advisory.

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.

References

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