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[ CVE-2023-20273 · Published 25 Oct 2023 ]

Cisco IOS XE Web UI Command Injection Vulnerability

Exploited · CISA KEV CVSS 7.2 EPSS 93%No fix listed yet

[ Why it matters ]Priority signals

  • Exploited in the wild: on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list since 2023-10-23
  • EPSS: 93% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (higher than 100% of CVEs)

[ Description ]Official 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.

CISA: 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.

[ Fixes ]Fixes and patches

CISA required action (US federal deadline 27 Oct 2023): 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.

No fix or interim patch is linked from our sources yet. Check the vendor references below and limit exposure of affected systems until a fix is available.

[ References ]References