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CVE-2023-20273

CISA KEV

Published October 23, 2023 · Updated April 3, 2026

high
Official Description+

Cisco IOS XE contains a command injection vulnerability in the web user interface. When chained with CVE-2023-20198, the attacker can leverage the new local user to elevate privilege to root and write the implant to the file system. Cisco identified CVE-2023-20273 as the vulnerability exploited to deploy the implant. CVE-2021-1435, previously associated with the exploitation events, is no longer believed to be related to this activity.

Affected Products

VendorProduct
CiscoCisco IOS XE Web UI

Patch Status

Patch by 2023-10-27

Recommended Actions

  1. Check if your systems use any of the affected products listed above.
  2. Apply vendor patches immediately if available.
  3. This vulnerability is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — prioritize remediation.
  4. Monitor vendor advisories for updates and additional mitigations.
  5. Review logs for indicators of compromise related to CVE-2023-20273.