How severe is CVE-2023-20273?

CVE-2023-20273 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.2, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2023-20273 being actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2023-20273 is on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added on 2023-10-23, which means active exploitation has been confirmed. It should be prioritised for remediation.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-20273?

CVE-2023-20273 primarily affects Cisco Ios Xe. In total, 186 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2023-20273?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Because this CVE is known to be actively exploited, treat remediation as urgent — CISA KEV typically sets a short remediation deadline.

Does CVE-2023-20273 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2023-20273 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2023-24452. It is also flagged as exploited in the EUVD (since 2023-10-23).

When was CVE-2023-20273 published?

CVE-2023-20273 was published on 2023-10-25 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2023-20273

CVE-2023-20273 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.2. It is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, confirming it has been exploited in the wild (added 2023-10-23). The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-78.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.2)
EPSS exploit prediction: 90% (100th percentile)
Actively exploited: Yes — listed in CISA KEV (added 2023-10-23)
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2023-24452
EU exploitation: Flagged exploited in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (since 2023-10-23)
Weakness: CWE-78
Affected product: Cisco Ios Xe
Published: 2023-10-25
Last modified: 2026-06-17

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-20273?: 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.
How severe is CVE-2023-20273?: CVE-2023-20273 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.2, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2023-20273 being actively exploited?: Yes. CVE-2023-20273 is on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added on 2023-10-23, which means active exploitation has been confirmed. It should be prioritised for remediation.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-20273?: CVE-2023-20273 primarily affects Cisco Ios Xe. In total, 186 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-20273?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Because this CVE is known to be actively exploited, treat remediation as urgent — CISA KEV typically sets a short remediation deadline.
Does CVE-2023-20273 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2023-20273 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2023-24452. It is also flagged as exploited in the EUVD (since 2023-10-23).
When was CVE-2023-20273 published?: CVE-2023-20273 was published on 2023-10-25 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (186)

cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.1a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.5b:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.3.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.4.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.5.1a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.5.1b:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.4a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.5a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.7.1a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.7.1b:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Cisco Ios Xe

CVE-2025-20188 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability in the Out-of-Band Access Point (AP) Image Download, the Clean Air Spectral Recording, and the client…
CVE-2023-20198 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Cisco is providing an update for the ongoing investigation into observed exploitation of the web UI feature in Cisco…
CVE-2021-34770 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol processing of Cisco IOS XE…
CVE-2019-12643 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability in the Cisco REST API virtual service container for Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an…
CVE-2021-1619 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): A vulnerability in the authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) function of Cisco IOS XE Software could…
CVE-2020-3227 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): A vulnerability in the authorization controls for the Cisco IOx application hosting infrastructure in Cisco IOS XE…

All CVEs affecting Cisco Ios Xe →

Other CWE-78 (OS Command Injection) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-56004 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A shellcode injection in the mercurial handler of the obs tar_scm source service before version 0.12.4 could be used by…
CVE-2026-56415 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Storage Concentrator (SC & SCVM) contains a command injection vulnerability within the debug.pl script that is…
CVE-2026-56413 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Storage Concentrator (SC & SCVM) contains a command injection vulnerability in the ms_service.pl service, which listens…
CVE-2026-49869 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Kestra is an open-source, event-driven orchestration platform. Prior to 1.0.45 and 1.3.21, AuthenticationFilter in…
CVE-2026-49261 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): MariaDB server is a community developed fork of MySQL server. Versions 10.6.1 through 10.6.26, 10.11.1 through…
CVE-2026-10520 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An OS Command Injection vulnerability in Ivanti Sentry before the R10.5.2, R10.6.2 and R10.7.1 versions allows a…

Browse all CWE-78 (OS Command Injection) vulnerabilities →