CVE-2023-20273

Confirmed PUBLISHED

A vulnerability in the web UI feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to inject commands with the privileges...

Cisco · Cisco IOS XE Software

Exploited in the wild PoC available

Recommended Action

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

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Confidence

Confirmed

Exploitation Status

Exploited in the wild

Observed in Sensors

Attempts (30d)

—

Unique Attacker IPs

—

CISA KEV

In CISA KEV

CVSS / EPSS

7.2 High EPSS 89.6%

At a Glance

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.

cisa edge ios metasploit

CVE Published: Oct 24, 2023
Exploitation Reported: Oct 23, 2023
CVSS: 7.2 High
EPSS: 89.6%

Remote Low complexity No user interaction

Affected Versions

186 version rows · page 4 of 8

Vendor	Product	Version	Status
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.10.1g	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.10.3	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.11.1	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.11.1a	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.11.1b	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.11.2	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.11.1s	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.1	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.1s	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.1a	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.1c	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.1w	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.2	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.1y	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.2a	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.3	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.8	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.2s	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.1x	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.1t	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.4	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.3s	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.3a	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.4a	Affected
Cisco	Cisco IOS XE Software	16.12.5	Affected

CVE References

cisco-sa-iosxe-webui-privesc-j22SaA4z sec.cloudapps.cisco.com · CVE Record https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurity...

Recommended Actions

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Check enrichment artifacts for scanner coverage and available PoCs before rolling remediation validation.
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Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources

Catalogues that list this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability.

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEVIntel Pro API.

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Source	Added
CISA First	2023-10-23 00:00 UTC
Tenable Blog	2026-06-02 14:20 UTC

Scanner Artifacts

Nuclei and Metasploit references linked to this CVE.

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Metasploit	https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/misc/cisco_ios_xe_rce.rb	Apr 28, 2025

CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 7.2 High

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

Exploitation Status

Exploited in the wild

Recorded 2023-10-23 00:00:00 UTC · CISA

Proof of concept available

Recorded 2023-12-09 07:25:43 UTC · GitHub

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-78

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

Scanner Integrations

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Metasploit	https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/misc/cisco_ios_xe_rce.rb	Apr 28, 2025

Recent Mentions

Inside the customer environment: Where threat actors, vulnerabilities, and exposed assets intersect

Tenable Blog · May 27, 2026

Tenable Research has developed a graph-based model linking 600+ threat groups to real-world customer exposures. It reveals which vulnerabilities sit at the intersection of severity, active exploitation, and organizational risk.Key takeawaysThe "patch everything" strategy is dead: Vulnerability prioritization based on exploitation risk offers a path forward. A directed graph model linking 600+ threat actors to vulnerabilities in 7,800 customer environments reveals that 68% of organizations carry at least one CVE previously exploited by a named adversary, and 321 tracked threat groups can reach at least one customer environment through an active vulnerability. Prevalence of "Elite Arsenal" CVEs requires immediate attention: The 242 "Elite Arsenal" CVEs — those meeting all three criteria of critical VPR (≥ 9), CISA KEV listing, and documented threat group exploitation — are nearly universally present across the studied customer base, with 241 of 242 actively detected. More than half are five or more years old, and 78% of the persistently exploited core are simultaneously weaponized by nation-state APTs, commodity malware operators, and ransomware gangs. Non-CVE exposures are universally dangerous: Non-CVE exposures, including misconfigurations, weak credentials, and end-of-life software, are present in virtually 100% of studied organizations, with 60% carrying at least one that maps to a tracked threat actor's preferred techniques. Preliminary modeling suggests these exposures may confer more breach risk than CVE-linked findings, yet no industry-standard scoring infrastructure exists to prioritize them.While the first two posts in this blog series documented the accelerating vulnerability flood and the widening remediation gap, today we answer the outstanding question: Where do these forces actually collide inside customer environments? Using a directed graph model that maps more than 600 tracked threat groups to vulnerabilities observed across 7,800 organizations,...

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

smokeintheshell/CVE-2023-20273

github · Created 2023-12-09 07:25:43 UTC · 9 stars

CVE-2023-20273 Exploit PoC

cisco_ios_xe_rce

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2023-20273

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Pro API Example

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2023-20273

{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2023-20273",
  "title": "A vulnerability in the web UI feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an...",
  "affected_vendor": "Cisco",
  "affected_product": "Cisco IOS XE Software",
  "affected_versions": [
    { "vendor": "...", "product": "...", "status": "affected", "display_label": "..." }
  ],
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 7.2,
  "epss_score": 0.89634,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "...": "Pro API fields" },
  "proof_of_concepts": [ "..." ],
  "scanner_integrations": [ "..." ]
}

The free JSON API returns basic KEV fields only. Confidence, telemetry, and artifact enrichment require Pro API access.

CVE-2023-20273

At a Glance

Affected Versions

CVE References

Recommended Actions

Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources

Scanner Artifacts

Virtual Patch

CVSS Scores

Exploitation Status

Weaknesses (CWE)

Scanner Integrations

Recent Mentions

Potential Proof of Concepts

Timeline

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