Exploited CVEs / Cisco / CVE-2023-20273
CVE-2023-20273
Cisco IOS XE Web UI Command Injection Vulnerability. Exploitation in the wild is confirmed by CISA, not predicted. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2023-10-27 (that deadline has passed); treat that date as the outer bound for your own environment. The fix is in the vendor advisory: Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT), linked below.
Actively exploited Cisco IOS XE Web UI vulnerability, High severity, CVSS 7.2. Added to the CISA KEV catalog 2023-10-23.
Risk summary
Updated July 27, 2026. Data refreshed on every build from MSRC, CISA KEV, and FIRST EPSS.
Senserva AI Opinion for CVE-2023-20273
This Cisco IOS XE web UI command injection is the second stage of a well-documented chain: after the companion privilege escalation creates a rogue user, this flaw elevates to root and writes an implant to the file system. Cisco identified it as the vulnerability behind the implant deployments, it carries 90% EPSS, and it is rated High Severity (CVSS 7.2). Any IOS XE device with its web UI exposed should be treated as a candidate victim, not just a patch target.
Do this: Patch IOS XE devices, disable the web UI where it is not required, and hunt for the known implant on any device that was exposed.
AI-generated from public data, 2026-07-07. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting.
Senserva AI Opinion and rich prompt for CVE-2023-20273
Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. The facts are included, sourced from this page.
Full tracking and change history for CVE-2023-20273
Published and last-revised dates are authoritative, from Microsoft MSRC (or the CISA KEV date-added). Senserva additionally records day-to-day changes from 2026-07-07, refreshed several times a day; the change count reflects that forward-only tracking.
CISA required action
Federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date: 2023-10-27 (past due).
Verify that instances of Cisco IOS XE Web UI are in compliance with BOD 23-02 and apply mitigations per vendor instructions. For affected products (Cisco IOS XE Web UI exposed to the internet or to untrusted networks), follow vendor instructions to determine if a system may have been compromised and immediately report positive findings to CISA.
Official fix for CVE-2023-20273
The authoritative fix and affected-version list are published by the vendor. Find the Cisco IOS XE Web UI advisory on Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT).
Common questions about CVE-2023-20273
Is CVE-2023-20273 actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2023-20273 was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2023-10-23, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed, not predicted. Its EPSS 30-day exploitation probability is 90%.
What is the CISA deadline and required action for CVE-2023-20273?
CISA set the federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date at 2023-10-27, which has passed; treat any unremediated system as overdue. The verbatim required action: Verify that instances of Cisco IOS XE Web UI are in compliance with BOD 23-02 and apply mitigations per vendor instructions. For affected products (Cisco IOS XE Web UI exposed to the internet or to untrusted networks), follow vendor instructions to determine if a system may have been compromised and immediately report positive findings to CISA.
What fixes CVE-2023-20273?
The authoritative fix is in the vendor advisory: see Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT) for the patched Cisco IOS XE Web UI versions and any workarounds. KEV listing makes this a fix-first item: patch it ahead of higher-CVSS issues nobody is exploiting.
Can I ask my own AI about CVE-2023-20273?
Yes. This page includes a free, ready-to-paste AI prompt containing CVE-2023-20273's key facts: severity, CVSS, EPSS, the KEV date, the CISA due date, and the required action. Copy it into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot; the data is refreshed twice a day (5 AM and 3 PM US Central).
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