Cisco IOS XE Web UI Post-Authentication Command Injection / Privilege Escalation
CVE-2023-20273 is a vulnerability in the web UI feature of Cisco IOS XE Software that allows an authenticated remote attacker to inject commands due to insufficient input validation. By sending crafted input to the web UI, an attacker can cause commands to be executed on the underlying operating system with root privileges. In observed real-world exploitation, this issue was commonly chained after CVE-2023-20198, which allowed attackers to create a privileged local account; the newly created account was then used to authenticate to the web UI and exploit CVE-2023-20273 for root-level command execution and implant deployment.
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Impact, mitigation & remediation
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
Impact
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
Mitigation
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Remediation
Patch, then assume compromise.
Exploits
1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos (1 hidden).
This repository provides a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) exploit for CVE-2023-20273, a command injection vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE WebUI. The repository contains two files: a detailed README.md with usage instructions and exploit.py, a Python script implementing the exploit logic. The exploit targets Cisco IOS XE devices with the WebUI enabled and requires valid credentials. It works by sending a crafted POST request to the /webui/rest/softwareMgmt/installAdd endpoint, injecting arbitrary shell commands via the ipaddress field. The script supports both direct command execution and reverse shell payloads, with options to retrieve command output via the target's web server. The exploit is confirmed to work on several Cisco Catalyst models and IOS XE versions, with filesystem space being a potential limiting factor. The code is a functional PoC, not weaponized, and is intended for security testing and research.
Affected products & vendors
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
Recent activity
27 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A publicly disclosed Cisco IOS XE vulnerability cited as part of the CVE set Salt Typhoon used to gain/expand access in telecom networks.
A second Cisco IOS XE zero-day vulnerability mentioned in related content as being actively exploited in the wild.
A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE that, when chained with CVE-2023-20198, allows attackers to gain full administrator access to affected devices.
A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE that, when chained with CVE-2023-20198, allows attackers to gain full administrator access to affected devices.
The version that knows your environment.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.