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
2 valid exploits after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos (1 hidden).
This repository is a small Cisco IOS XE exploitation toolkit focused on the 2023 Web UI/WSMA vulnerability cluster. It contains 4 files: a minimal README and three Python scripts. scripts/exp.py and scripts/poc.py are effectively duplicates: both are standalone command-line exploit scripts that take a target URL and command, then send crafted SOAP envelopes to the encoded WSMA endpoint /%2577ebui_wsma_http or /%2577ebui_wsma_https. They support two modes: 'common' for execCLI command execution and 'super' for configApply/privileged configuration commands. Returned XML is parsed with xmltodict and command output or error information is printed. scripts/exploit.py is the more capable staged exploit. Based on visible code and comments, it targets CVE-2023-20273 and references CVE-2023-20198 as part of the broader attack chain against Cisco IOS XE Web UI. It abuses /webui/rest/softwareMgmt/installAdd by injecting shell syntax into the JSON ipaddress field. The script includes helpers for base64-encoded command execution, writing files to /var/www/ for retrieval through /webui/, and dropping/executing a self-deleting bash reverse shell that connects back to an attacker-controlled host and port. It also references /usr/binos/conf/mcp_chvrf.sh to execute shell content in the global VRF context. Overall purpose: provide practical remote code execution against vulnerable Cisco IOS XE devices, ranging from direct WSMA CLI execution to staged Web UI command injection with output retrieval and reverse shell capability. The code is operational rather than just demonstrative, but it is not part of a major exploitation framework.
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.