CVE-2023-20198

criticalpriority · act · 90OT risk · criticalKEV · exploitedEPSS 0.996 · 100 %ileexploit · weaponizedDEEURUUS
grimoire priorityP0 · Act now
Exploitable?
Yes · in the wild
CISA KEV · 39 exploits · weaponized
Likely / severe?
99.6% (100th) EPSS
CVSS 10 · critical
Is it mine?
406 products
Check your exposure
Who says so?
6 sources
cnnvd · enisa_euvd · fstec_bdu · cert_bund

added 2023-10-16remediate by 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.

EPSS · scored 2026-10-24

Cisco IOS XE Web UI Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

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.

01

remediations

Vendor fix, mitigation, or workaround guidance, as published by each source.

A vendor fix is available.

02

cvss

Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.

10.0
010

base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode

v3.110criticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:Hprimary · NVD / NIST USexploitability 3.9 · impact 6
v3.010criticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · CISA US
v3.110criticalAV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · FSTEC (BDU) RU
v3.110criticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · ENISA EU
v3.110criticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · psirt@cisco.com USexploitability 3.9 · impact 6
v3.110criticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:Hsecondary · CVSS-BT (t0sche)
v3.110criticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · Cisco PSIRT US
03

ssvc

A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.

Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalcoordinatorcisa_ssvcUS
04

weaknesses

The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.

CWE-269USCWE-420USCWE-420US
05

ATT&CK techniques

ATT&CK techniques this enables or maps to.

06

exploits (39)

Public proof-of-concept and weaponised exploit code.

07

affected products (406)

Products and version ranges known to be affected.

showing 20 of 406
08

advisories (3)

Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.

  • WID-SEC-W-2023-2658Cisco IOS XE: Schwachstellen ermöglichten Administrativen ZugriffDeutsch2023-10-16csaf · cert_bundDE

    Ein entfernter, anonymer Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in Cisco IOS XE ausnutzen, um Administrativen Zugriff zu erlangen.

  • cisco-sa-iosxe-webui-privesc-j22SaA4zMultiple Vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS XE Software Web UI Feature2023-10-16csaf · cisco_csafUS

    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. Fix information can be found in the Fixed Software ["#fs"] section of this advisory. 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 ["https://bst.cloudapps.cisco.com/bugsearch/bug/CSCwh87343"]. For steps to close the attack vector for these vulnerabilities, see the Recommendations ["#REC"] section of this advisory.

  • ICSA-23-297-01Rockwell Automation Stratix 5800 and Stratix 5200 (UPDATE A)2023-10-24icsa · cisa_csaf_otUS

    Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated attacker to take control of the affected system.

09

also known as (4)

Other names and identifiers for this entity.

10

sources

Which sources assert this record, and when.

cnnvdenisa_euvdfstec_bducert_bundcisa_csaf_otcisco_csafNVDCVE.orgMITRE
published 2023-10-16modified 2026-06-17
11

references (11)

External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.

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