CVE-2023-20198
Is CVE-2023-20198 real, exploitable, or a false positive? Here's the community verdict.
signals
public sources
Confirmed exploited in the wild. Patch this first, regardless of the base score.
public exploits
links to sources — we don’t host codeA working exploit is publicly available from a maintained source. Treat this as higher urgency and verify your exposure.
baseline read
auto · not a community verdict
Real — exploited in the wild
CISA confirms active exploitation. Treat scanner hits as true positives unless your specific version or config is unaffected.
Based on CISA KEV
Confirm or dispute →CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
References
Published
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Field notes & remediation
Verdicts are the quick signal. Notes are the evidence and fixes behind them.
- 0
Cisco IOS XE Web UI Privilege Escalation Vulnerability — 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. Listed in the CISA KEV catalog (added 2023-10-16) — confirmed exploited in the wild, not theoretical. FIRST EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at ~100%. Treat it as real and prioritize remediation over triage.
- 0
Required action for Cisco IOS XE Web UI: 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 set a federal remediation due date of 2023-10-20. After patching, verify the vulnerable path is no longer reachable before closing the finding.
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