Cisco - Authentication Bypass (CVE-2023-20198)
Description
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.
psychologyCrowdSec Analysis
CVE-2023-20198 is a critical vulnerability in the web UI feature of Cisco IOS XE Software that allows remote attackers to gain initial access by creating a local user with administrative privileges.
CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 15th of December 2023.
Data from the CrowdSec community indicates that exploitation of CVE-2023-20198 is highly selective and intelligence-driven. Threat actors use advanced reconnaissance and carefully choose their targets, often as part of sophisticated campaigns or advanced persistent threat operations. Telemetry from the CrowdSec network also shows that exploitation activity for CVE-2023-20198 remains steady week-over-week. Attack volumes are consistent with long-term trends, indicating sustained interest from threat actors. CVE-2023-20198 continues to be an active part of the threat landscape and will likely remain this way for the forseeable future.
Observed exploitation attempts typically involve requests to the web UI endpoints of Cisco IOS XE devices.
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| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| CVE Published | 2023-10-16 |
| CISA KEV | 2023-10-16 |
| CISA Remediation Deadline | 2023-10-20 |
| Rule Released | 2023-12-15 |
| CrowdSec First Seen | 2025-05-03 |