Ios XeOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2023-20273
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA 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.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceCommand injection vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software web UI where insufficient input validation allows an authenticated remote attacker to inject arbitrary commands with root privileges on the underlying operating system via crafted HTTP requests.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Ios XeOperating system
= 16.1.1= 16.1.2= 16.1.3= 16.2.1= 16.2.2= 16.3.1a= 16.3.2= 16.3.3= 16.3.4= 16.3.5= 16.3.5b= 16.3.6CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify IOS XE versionExecute 'show version' on the device CLI and locate the IOS XE version string (typically shown as something like 16.X.Y)Affected if The version matches any of these exact versions: 16.1.1, 16.1.2, 16.1.3, 16.2.1, 16.2.2, 16.3.1a, 16.3.2, 16.3.3, 16.3.4, 16.3.5, 16.3.5b, or 16.3.6
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Confirm web UI is enabledRun 'show running-config | include ip http server|ip http secure server' to check if HTTP or HTTPS web interface is activeAffected if HTTP server or HTTPS server is enabled in the configuration
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Verify authentication is configured for web UIRun 'show running-config | include aaa' and check that authentication methods are defined for HTTP usersAffected if Authentication is configured (attack requires valid credentials, but any authentication config means the web UI accepts logins)
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Review recent web UI access logsExecute 'show logging | include HTTP' to review recent HTTP/HTTPS access attempts on the deviceAffected if Web UI is actively accessible and accepting connections
You are affected if the device runs exactly one of these versions (16.1.1 through 16.3.6) AND the web UI (HTTP or HTTPS) is enabled and accessible.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataDisable the web UI feature if not required, restrict web UI access to trusted IP addresses via ACLs, and apply the relevant Cisco IOS XE software patch when available through normal update channels.
Fix this in Ios Xe
Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20273 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-20273 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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