CVE-2023-20198
CriticalWhat is CVE-2023-20198?
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.
CVSS Vector Breakdown
CVSS 3.1Exploitable remotely over the network without requiring access to the local system.
No special conditions required. Exploit can be performed reliably and repeatedly.
No authentication required. Any anonymous user can exploit this vulnerability.
No user interaction required. Exploit runs without any victim action.
Exploiting the vulnerability can affect other components beyond the vulnerable one.
Complete loss of confidentiality. All data on the component may be exposed.
Complete loss of integrity. Attacker can modify any file or data on the component.
Complete denial of service. The component becomes fully unavailable.
Known Affected Devices
FAQ
CVE-2023-20198 has a CVSS score of 10.0/10, rated as Critical. This is the highest severity level - immediate patching is strongly recommended.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) rates vulnerability severity from 0.0 to 10.0. CVE-2023-20198 scores 10.0/10 (Critical). Scores 9.0–10.0 are Critical, 7.0–8.9 are High, 4.0–6.9 are Medium, and below 4.0 are Low.
The list of devices confirmed to be affected by CVE-2023-20198 is shown in the "Affected Devices" section above. Check your firmware version against the vendor security advisory and apply the latest patch.
Apply the latest firmware or software update from the vendor. Check the References section above for official advisories and patch notes. If no patch is available, consider disabling the affected feature or isolating the device from untrusted networks.