{"schema":"threatline.record/2","record":{"id":"CVE-2023-20198","aliases":[],"summary":"Cisco IOS XE Web UI Privilege Escalation Vulnerability","details":"Cisco IOS XE Web UI contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the web user interface that could allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to create an account with privilege level 15 access. The attacker can then use that account to gain control of the affected device.","categories":["Operating systems"],"product":"IOS XE Web UI","vendor":"Cisco","ecosystem":null,"affected_ranges":[{"source":"CVE List","source_url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20198","source_modified_at":"2025-10-21T23:05:34.401Z","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","product":"Cisco IOS XE Software","vendor":"Cisco","versions":[{"version":"16.1.1","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.1.2","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.1.3","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.2.1","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.2.2","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.1","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.2","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.3","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.1a","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.4","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.5","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.5b","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.6","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.7","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.8","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.9","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.10","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.3.11","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.4.1","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.4.2","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.4.3","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.5.1","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.5.1a","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.5.1b","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.5.2","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.5.3","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.6.1","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.6.2","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.6.3","status":"affected"},{"version":"16.6.4","status":"affected"}],"defaultStatus":null}],"fixed_versions":[],"cvss":10,"severity":"Critical","kev":{"listed":true,"date_added":"2023-10-16","due_date":"2023-10-20","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.","ransomware_campaign_use":"Unknown"},"epss":{"probability":0.99609,"percentile":0.99949,"score_date":"2026-10-23"},"published_at":"2023-10-16T15:12:58.735Z","modified_at":"2025-10-21T23:05:34.401Z","provenance":[{"source":"CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2026-10-23T17:00:09.9001Z"},{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20198","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2025-10-21T23:05:34.401Z"},{"source":"Metasploit","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/misc/cisco_ios_xe_rce.rb","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2023-10-16"},{"source":"Metasploit","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_cli_exec_cve_2023_20198.rb","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2023-10-16"},{"source":"Metasploit","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_os_exec_cve_2023_20273.rb","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2023-10-16"},{"source":"Nuclei","url":"https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-20198.yaml","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":null},{"source":"EPSS","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2023-20198","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2026-10-23"}],"sources":["CISA KEV","CVE List","Metasploit","Nuclei","EPSS"],"references":[{"url":"https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ios-nx-os-software/ios-xe-dublin-17121/221128-software-fix-availability-for-cisco-ios.html","source":"CISA KEV"},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20198","source":"CISA KEV"},{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxe-webui-privesc-j22SaA4z","tags":["x_transferred"]},{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-20198","tags":["government-resource"]}],"locations":[],"motoko_assessment":{"status":"requires_architecture_review","automatic_remediation":false},"cve_state":"PUBLISHED","cvss_source":"CVE List","ssvc":{"exploitation":"active","automatable":"yes","technical_impact":"total","assessed_at":"2024-10-23T18:58:11.982740Z"},"exploits":[{"source":"Metasploit","kind":"Exploit module","name":"Cisco IOX XE Unauthenticated RCE Chain","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/misc/cisco_ios_xe_rce.rb","date":"2023-10-16","added":"2026-05-14","check":true},{"source":"Metasploit","kind":"Auxiliary module","name":"Cisco IOX XE unauthenticated Command Line Interface (CLI) execution","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_cli_exec_cve_2023_20198.rb","date":"2023-10-16","added":"2025-02-28","check":false},{"source":"Metasploit","kind":"Auxiliary module","name":"Cisco IOX XE unauthenticated OS command execution","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_os_exec_cve_2023_20273.rb","date":"2023-10-16","added":"2025-03-27","check":false},{"source":"Nuclei","kind":"Scanner template","name":"Cisco IOS XE Web UI - Command Injection","url":"https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-20198.yaml"}],"classification":{"method":"product-first software-layer rules","rules_version":"2.1","matched_on":"product","confidence":"heuristic","reviewed":false},"change_timestamp":"2025-10-21T23:05:34.401Z","content_hash":"d1e472f08a33b84ccee700feb1b27bc8b3e5b39a141178718bc160f057fc51e3"}}