Cisco IOS XE Web UI Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Grounded briefings

Catalog interpretations for three audiences. Each brief cites ingested metadata and the original advisories below. They are not independent research and they do not invent exploit steps.

Exploitation and remediation

• Exploitation evidence

  Confirmed in CISA KEV since Oct 16, 2023. Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

• Patch and remediation

  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. CISA due date Oct 20, 2023.

• Safe detection guidance

  Compare installed versions with the affected ranges below and verify the advisory from the original publisher. This site stores metadata and outbound links only; it does not ship exploit code or proof-of-concept payloads.

Technology hubs

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

1. Oct 16, 2023 · Catalog

   Detected

   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

2. Oct 16, 2023 · CISA KEV

   Known exploited

   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.

3. Oct 20, 2023 · CISA KEV

   Remediation due

   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.

4. Jun 16, 2026 · Catalog

   Updated

   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

Affected

• cpe cisco/ios xeversion unspecified
• cpe rockwellautomation/allen-bradley stratix 5200 firmwareversion unspecified
• cpe rockwellautomation/allen-bradley stratix 5800 firmwareversion unspecified
• vendor Cisco IOS XE Web UIversion unspecified

Sources

• CISA KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2023-20198

  Cisco IOS XE Web UI contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the web user interface that could allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to create an account with privilege level 15 access. The attacker can then use that account to gain control of the affected device.

  cisa.gov
• CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2023-20198

  Official CVE identifier

  cve.org
• FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2023-20198

  30-day exploitation probability 99.6%

  first.org
• Metasploit ModulesPublic exploit moduleauxiliary_admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_cli_exec_cve_2023_20198

  Public module reference (normal). Module source is not copied into this catalog.

  rapid7.com
• Metasploit ModulesPublic exploit moduleauxiliary_admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_os_exec_cve_2023_20273

  Public module reference (normal). Module source is not copied into this catalog.

  rapid7.com
• Metasploit ModulesPublic exploit moduleexploit_linux/misc/cisco_ios_xe_rce

  Public module reference (excellent). Module source is not copied into this catalog.

  rapid7.com
• NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2023-20198

  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 previou

  nvd.nist.gov

References

• CISA note · nvd.nist.gov
• Mitigation · sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
• US Government Resource · cisa.gov
• CISA note · cisco.com