What it is
CVE-2023-20273 is a vulnerability affecting Cisco IOS XE Software. 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...
Vulnerability report
Exploited in the wild
Confirmed confidence
In CISA KEV
CVE-2023-20273
Cisco IOS XE Software
Cisco IOS XE Software · 16.1.1
- Severity
- CVSS 7.2 · High
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Exploit status
- Exploited in the wild
- EPSS
- 93.0%
- First observed
- —
- Last observed
- —
Decision summary
What security teams need to know first
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
Is it exploited?
Yes. Previdian tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed. Listed in CISA KEV. Also confirmed by third-party sources.
Who is affected?
Cisco IOS XE Software 16.1.1.
What should we do?
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Overview
Cisco IOS XE Software
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.
Vendor
Product
Affected
Status
Cisco
Affected
Cisco IOS XE Software
16.1.1
16.1.2
16.1.3
16.2.1
16.2.2
16.3.1
16.3.2
16.3.3
16.3.1a
16.3.4
16.3.5
16.3.5b
16.3.6
16.3.7
16.3.8
16.3.9
16.3.10
16.3.11
16.4.1
16.4.2
16.4.3
16.5.1
16.5.1a
16.5.1b
16.5.2
16.5.3
16.6.1
16.6.2
16.6.3
16.6.4
16.6.5
16.6.4a
16.6.5a
16.6.6
16.6.7
16.6.8
16.6.9
16.6.10
16.7.1
16.7.1a
16.7.1b
16.7.2
16.7.3
16.7.4
16.8.1
16.8.1a
16.8.1b
16.8.1s
16.8.1c
16.8.1d
16.8.2
16.8.1e
16.8.3
16.9.1
16.9.2
16.9.1a
16.9.1b
16.9.1s
16.9.3
16.9.4
16.9.3a
16.9.5
16.9.5f
16.9.6
16.9.7
16.9.8
16.10.1
16.10.1a
16.10.1b
16.10.1s
16.10.1c
16.10.1e
16.10.1d
16.10.2
16.10.1f
16.10.1g
16.10.3
16.11.1
16.11.1a
16.11.1b
16.11.2
16.11.1s
16.12.1
16.12.1s
16.12.1a
16.12.1c
16.12.1w
16.12.2
16.12.1y
16.12.2a
16.12.3
16.12.8
16.12.2s
16.12.1x
16.12.1t
16.12.4
16.12.3s
16.12.3a
16.12.4a
16.12.5
16.12.6
16.12.1z1
16.12.5a
16.12.5b
16.12.1z2
16.12.6a
16.12.7
16.12.9
16.12.10
17.1.1
17.1.1a
17.1.1s
17.1.1t
17.1.3
17.2.1
17.2.1r
17.2.1a
17.2.1v
17.2.2
17.2.3
17.3.1
17.3.2
17.3.3
17.3.1a
17.3.1w
17.3.2a
17.3.1x
17.3.1z
17.3.4
17.3.5
17.3.4a
17.3.6
17.3.4b
17.3.4c
17.3.5a
17.3.5b
17.3.7
17.3.8
17.4.1
17.4.2
17.4.1a
17.4.1b
17.4.2a
17.5.1
17.5.1a
17.5.1b
17.5.1c
17.6.1
17.6.2
17.6.1w
17.6.1a
17.6.1x
17.6.3
17.6.1y
17.6.1z
17.6.3a
17.6.4
17.6.1z1
17.6.5
17.6.6
17.7.1
17.7.1a
17.7.1b
17.7.2
17.10.1
17.10.1a
17.10.1b
17.8.1
17.8.1a
17.9.1
17.9.1w
17.9.2
17.9.1a
17.9.1x
17.9.1y
17.9.3
17.9.2a
17.9.1x1
17.9.3a
17.9.4
17.9.1y1
17.11.1
17.11.1a
17.12.1
17.12.1a
17.11.99SW
Affected
- Published
- 24 Oct 2023
- Exploitation Reported
- 23 Oct 2023
- Attack vector
- Remote
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
Tags
cisa
edge
ios
metasploit
CVE References
- CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20273
- cisco-sa-iosxe-webui-privesc-j22SaA4z sec.cloudapps.cisco.com · CVE Record https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurity...
Exploitation evidence
Why Previdian marks this CVE as exploited
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
Exploited in the wild
CISA
A trusted third party reported exploitation.
Proof of concept available
GitHub
Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.
Known exploited vulnerability sources
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2023-10-23 00:00 UTC |
| Tenable Blog | 2026-06-02 14:20 UTC |
Detection
Operational artifacts and observed signals
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Observed signals
- Request targets
- User-Agents
- Callback hosts
- 0
- 0
- 0
Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.
Scanner coverage
Metasploit template detected 28 Apr 2025.
View Metasploit template (opens in new tab)Virtual patch status
No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →Scanner Artifacts
Scanner and exploit-framework 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 | 28 Apr 2025 |
Risk and context
Severity, weaknesses, and research context
CVSS v3.1
7.2
High
Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
93.0%
Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.
Weaknesses
Recent mention · Tenable Blog
Inside the customer environment: Where threat actors, vulnerabilities, and exposed assets intersect
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...
Read full advisoryPotential Proof of Concepts
These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.
Timeline
From disclosure to observed exploitation
-
14:20 UTC
KEV confirmed by Tenable Blog
Exploitation attested by an external source
-
15:02 UTC
Metasploit module available
Exploit module available
-
15:02 UTC
Public PoC available
Public proof-of-concept code published
-
14:13 UTC
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
00:00 UTC
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
18:47 UTC
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Pro API
Automate this intelligence
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
- Evidence confidence and provenance
- First-party sensor telemetry
- PoC and scanner references
- Affected versions and enrichment
- Automation-ready JSON delivery
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2023-20273
Sample API response{
"cve_id": "CVE-2023-20273",
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 7.2,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": 0.92992,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}