{"schema":"threatline.record/2","record":{"id":"CVE-2023-20273","aliases":[],"summary":"Cisco IOS XE Web UI Command Injection Vulnerability","details":"Cisco IOS XE contains a command injection vulnerability in the web user interface. When chained with CVE-2023-20198, the attacker can leverage the new local user to elevate privilege to root and write the implant to the file system. Cisco identified CVE-2023-20273 as the vulnerability exploited to deploy the implant. CVE-2021-1435, previously associated with the exploitation events, is no longer believed to be related to this activity.","categories":["Network & edge"],"product":"Cisco IOS XE Web UI","vendor":"Cisco","ecosystem":null,"affected_ranges":[{"source":"CVE List","source_url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20273","source_modified_at":"2025-10-21T23:05:33.896Z","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":7.2,"severity":"High","kev":{"listed":true,"date_added":"2023-10-23","due_date":"2023-10-27","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":0.92992,"percentile":0.99834,"score_date":"2026-10-23"},"published_at":"2023-10-24T14:13:36.311Z","modified_at":"2025-10-21T23:05:33.896Z","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-2023-20273","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2025-10-21T23:05:33.896Z"},{"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_os_exec_cve_2023_20273.rb","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2023-10-16"},{"source":"EPSS","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2023-20273","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2026-10-23"}],"sources":["CISA KEV","CVE List","Metasploit","EPSS"],"references":[{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxe-webui-privesc-j22SaA4z","tags":["x_transferred"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20273","source":"CISA KEV"},{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-20273","tags":["government-resource"]}],"locations":[],"motoko_assessment":{"status":"requires_architecture_review","automatic_remediation":false},"cve_state":"PUBLISHED","cvss_source":"CVE List","ssvc":{"exploitation":"active","automatable":"no","technical_impact":"total","assessed_at":"2023-11-15T16:39:19.546517Z"},"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 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}],"classification":{"method":"product-first software-layer rules","rules_version":"2.1","matched_on":"product","confidence":"heuristic","reviewed":false},"change_timestamp":"2025-10-21T23:05:33.896Z","content_hash":"213bcb95b2988a510d63561954b8a5f0c9c6f394dd9e2a1fc93f98c1f71e2951"}}