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CVE-2023-20198

Cisco IOS XE Web UI Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Severity
critical
CVSS v3
10
EPSS percentile
100%
Known exploited
yes (CISA KEV)
Vendor
Cisco
Product
IOS XE Web UI
Published
2023-10-16
Modified
2026-06-17

Description

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

NVD record

Informational only. Not a warranty of security, completeness or fitness for any purpose. Derived from NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS and vendor advisories (CVE Program List v5); those sources change continuously and may be incomplete or incorrect. Verify every remediation against the vendor advisory before acting. Absence of a finding is not evidence that no vulnerability exists. Not endorsed by NVD, CISA, FIRST or any vendor named.

Raw record
{
  "id": "CVE-2023-20198",
  "title": "Cisco IOS XE Web UI Privilege Escalation Vulnerability",
  "description": "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 ",
  "severity": "critical",
  "cvss": 10,
  "epss": 100,
  "kev": 1,
  "vendor": "Cisco",
  "product": "IOS XE Web UI",
  "published": "2023-10-16",
  "modified": "2026-06-17T05:29:47.117",
  "source": "nvd",
  "remediation": [],
  "disclaimer": "Informational only. Not a warranty of security, completeness or fitness for any purpose. Derived from NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS and vendor advisories (CVE Program List v5); those sources change continuously and may be incomplete or incorrect. Verify every remediation against the vendor advisory before acting. Absence of a finding is not evidence that no vulnerability exists. Not endorsed by NVD, CISA, FIRST or any vendor named."
}