CVE-2023-20198

CRITICAL KEV RANSOMWARE NUCLEI

Cisco IOX XE Unauthenticated RCE Chain

Title source: metasploit
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2023-20198 is actively exploited and listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added October 16, 2023, with confirmed use in ransomware campaigns. EIP tracks 40 public exploits from researchers including smokeintheshell, W01fh4cker, fox-it, including a Metasploit module auxiliary/admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_cli_exec_cve_2023_20198. A Nuclei detection template is also available.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This repository contains a functional exploit PoC for CVE-2023-20198, which leverages improper path validation in Cisco IOS XE to bypass Nginx filtering and execute arbitrary commands or add privileged users via SOAP endpoints. The exploit supports vulnerability checks, command execution, and user management.

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.

Exploits (40)

nomisec WORKING POC 63 stars
by smokeintheshell · remote
https://github.com/smokeintheshell/CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a functional exploit PoC for CVE-2023-20198, which leverages improper path validation in Cisco IOS XE to bypass Nginx filtering and execute arbitrary commands or add privileged users via SOAP endpoints. The exploit supports vulnerability checks, command execution, and user management.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce | Auth Bypass
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (versions affected by CVE-2023-20198)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target device · Cisco IOS XE with vulnerable web UI exposed
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 42 stars
by W01fh4cker · remote
https://github.com/W01fh4cker/CVE-2023-20198-RCE

This PoC exploits CVE-2023-20198, a vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software Web UI, allowing unauthenticated remote command execution via crafted SOAP requests. It supports adding/deleting users and executing OS/Cisco CLI commands.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Software Web UI (versions with CVE-2023-20198)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to vulnerable Cisco IOS XE Web UI · Web UI feature enabled on the target
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 41 stars
by fox-it · poc
https://github.com/fox-it/cisco-ios-xe-implant-detection

This repository provides a scanner and detection methods for identifying the presence of the BadCandy implant associated with CVE-2023-20198, an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE. It includes Suricata rules, PCAPs, and a Python script to fingerprint compromised devices.

Classification
Scanner 100%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (unpatched for CVE-2023-20198)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target Cisco IOS XE device · Device must be unpatched for CVE-2023-20198
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 33 stars
by ZephrFish · poc
https://github.com/ZephrFish/CVE-2023-20198-Checker

This repository contains a scanner for detecting potential compromise via CVE-2023-20198 in Cisco IOS XE devices. It checks for specific indicators such as implant IDs and menu versions to determine if a system has been compromised.

Classification
Scanner 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target device · Target device running a vulnerable version of Cisco IOS XE
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 33 stars
by Shadow0ps · poc
https://github.com/Shadow0ps/CVE-2023-20198-Scanner

This repository contains a Python-based scanner designed to detect potential implants on Cisco IOS XE devices affected by CVE-2023-20198 and CVE-2023-20273. The scanner checks for known Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) by making HTTP/HTTPS requests to target devices and analyzing the responses.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE WebUI
No auth needed
Prerequisites: List of target IPs, CIDR ranges, or hostnames · Python 3.x with required packages (requests, termcolor, tqdm)
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 20 stars
by Atea-Redteam · poc
https://github.com/Atea-Redteam/CVE-2023-20198

This script scans for indicators of compromise (IOCs) related to CVE-2023-20198, a vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE software. It checks for suspicious responses and upgraded implants by sending HTTP requests to a range of IPs in a given subnet.

Classification
Scanner 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Software
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target subnet · Python environment with required libraries (requests)
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 11 stars
by Tounsi007 · poc
https://github.com/Tounsi007/CVE-2023-20198

This PoC exploits CVE-2023-20198 to create a local user account, install an implant, and restart the web server. It also includes cleanup steps to delete the created user account.

Classification
Working Poc 80%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco WebUI (specific version not specified)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target web server · Python 3.x with requests library
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 9 stars
by Pushkarup · poc
https://github.com/Pushkarup/CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a Python-based PoC for CVE-2023-20198, a critical privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software. The exploit demonstrates creating a privilege level 15 user account, installing an implant configuration, and restarting the web server to activate the implant.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Software
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Python 3.x · requests library · colorama library · target IP/URL
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 7 stars
by RevoltSecurities · poc
https://github.com/RevoltSecurities/CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a Python-based exploit and detection tool for CVE-2023-20198, a Cisco IOS XE authentication bypass vulnerability. The tool supports both detection and exploitation modes, allowing users to identify vulnerable systems and exploit them by sending malicious XML content to the web UI endpoint.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (specific versions not specified)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target Cisco IOS XE web UI · Malicious XML content for exploitation
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 6 stars
by iveresk · poc
https://github.com/iveresk/cve-2023-20198

This repository contains a Python script that checks for and exploits CVE-2023-20198, a vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE software. The script can either check for potential compromise or exploit the vulnerability to create a local user account and install a configuration implant.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Software
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target device · Python environment with requests library
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 4 stars
by sohaibeb · poc
https://github.com/sohaibeb/CVE-2023-20198

This PoC exploits CVE-2023-20198 to create a local user account, install an implant, and restart the web server on a Cisco device. It also includes cleanup steps to remove the created user account.

Classification
Working Poc 80%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco WebUI (specific version not specified)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target device · Python 3.x with requests library
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 2 stars
by G4sul1n · remote
https://github.com/G4sul1n/Cisco-IOS-XE-CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a functional exploit PoC for CVE-2023-20198, an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE's web UI. The exploit leverages improper path validation to bypass Nginx filtering and execute arbitrary commands or add privileged users via SOAP endpoints.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (versions affected by CVE-2023-20198)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the vulnerable Cisco IOS XE device · Web UI service exposed
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP 2 stars
by Vulnmachines · remote
https://github.com/Vulnmachines/Cisco_CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a writeup describing CVE-2023-20198, a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE software. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to gain full administrative privileges via the Web UI feature when HTTP/HTTPS servers are enabled.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE software with Web UI and HTTP/HTTPS Server features enabled
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Web UI feature enabled · HTTP or HTTPS Server feature enabled
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 2 stars
by alekos3 · poc
https://github.com/alekos3/CVE_2023_20198_Detector

This script scans Cisco IOS XE devices for CVE-2023-20198 by checking for specific HTTP server configurations via SSH. It generates a CSV report of vulnerable devices.

Classification
Scanner 100%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Software Web UI
Auth required
Prerequisites: SSH access to target devices · Valid credentials · CSV file with device IPs
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 2 stars
by mr-r3b00t · poc
https://github.com/mr-r3b00t/CVE-2023-20198-IOS-XE-Scanner

This repository contains a PowerShell script designed to detect the presence of an implant related to CVE-2023-20198 in Cisco IOS XE devices. The script checks for known hashes of legitimate web pages and flags discrepancies that may indicate an implant.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Web UI
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target Cisco IOS XE device · Known hash of a legitimate web page for comparison
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 1 stars
by IceBreakerCode · poc
https://github.com/IceBreakerCode/CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a Python-based scanner for detecting potential implants related to CVE-2023-20198 in Cisco IOS XE Software. The script checks for specific HTTP responses indicating vulnerability by sending crafted requests to a subnet of targets.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Software with web UI enabled
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to target subnet · Python 3.x · SSL/TLS support
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 1 stars
by kacem-expereo · poc
https://github.com/kacem-expereo/CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a Python script that checks for the presence of CVE-2023-20198 by sending HTTP GET and POST requests to specific URLs and analyzing the responses. It does not exploit the vulnerability but scans for indicators of vulnerability.

Classification
Scanner 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco BroadWorks (specific version not specified)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target IP · Target running vulnerable Cisco BroadWorks software
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 1 stars
by securityphoenix · poc
https://github.com/securityphoenix/cisco-CVE-2023-20198-tester

The repository contains a Python script that scans multiple IP addresses for CVE-2023-20198 by sending HTTP/HTTPS POST requests and checking for a specific string in the response. It logs results to a CSV file.

Classification
Scanner 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Web UI
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Python 3.x · requests library
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP 1 stars
by emomeni · poc
https://github.com/emomeni/Simple-Ansible-for-CVE-2023-20198

This repository provides an Ansible playbook to detect and disable HTTP/HTTPS servers on Cisco IOS XE devices to mitigate CVE-2023-20198. It includes instructions for testing in a Cisco sandbox environment but does not contain exploit code.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (versions affected by CVE-2023-20198)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Access to Cisco IOS XE device with HTTP/HTTPS server enabled · Valid credentials for the target device
MITRE ATT&CK
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
github WORKING POC
by dyeat · pythonpoc
https://github.com/dyeat/cve-reproduction/tree/main/Cisco/IOS-XE/CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2023-20198, a vulnerability in Cisco IOS-XE. The script includes both a check mode to verify vulnerability and an exploit mode to create a local user account and install an implant configuration.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS-XE
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target IP address · Network access to the target
devstral-2 · analyzed May 22, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec STUB
by telly251 · poc
https://github.com/telly251/forwardnetworksdemo

This repository contains an Ansible playbook that simulates remediation steps for CVE-2023-20198 but does not include functional exploit code or technical analysis. It only logs messages without executing actual commands.

Classification
Stub 90%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: Cisco IOS XE Web UI
Auth required
Prerequisites: access to Cisco IOS XE devices · Ansible environment
devstral-2 · analyzed Apr 10, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER
by gustavorobertux · remote
https://github.com/gustavorobertux/cisco-cve-2023-20198-checker

This repository contains a Go-based tool designed to check for the presence of CVE-2023-20198 in Cisco devices. The tool supports various proxy configurations and authentication mechanisms, but it does not include exploit code for achieving remote code execution or other offensive actions.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco devices affected by CVE-2023-20198
Auth required
Prerequisites: network access to target device · valid credentials for authentication
devstral-2 · analyzed Mar 09, 2026 Full analysis →
gitlab SCANNER
by tdubiel1 · poc
https://gitlab.com/tdubiel1/simple-ansible-for-cve-2023-20198

This repository contains an Ansible playbook designed to detect and mitigate CVE-2023-20198 by disabling HTTP/HTTPS servers on Cisco IOS XE devices and checking syslogs for exploitation indicators. It does not exploit the vulnerability but scans for its presence and applies remediation.

Classification
Scanner 90%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Web UI
Auth required
Prerequisites: SSH access to the target device · Privileged credentials (privilege 15 recommended)
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 23, 2026 Full analysis →
gitlab SCANNER
by emomeni · poc
https://gitlab.com/emomeni/simple-ansible-for-cve-2023-20198

This repository contains an Ansible playbook designed to detect and mitigate CVE-2023-20198 by checking the status of HTTP/HTTPS servers on Cisco IOS XE devices and disabling them if active. It also scans syslogs for indicators of exploitation.

Classification
Scanner 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Software
Auth required
Prerequisites: SSH access to the target device · Valid credentials for the target device
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 23, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by Gill-Singh-A · remote
https://github.com/Gill-Singh-A/CVE-2023-20198-Exploit

This repository contains a functional Python exploit for CVE-2023-20198, an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Web UI. The exploit leverages crafted SOAP requests to execute arbitrary commands, create/delete users, and bypass authentication via the WSMA endpoint.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (Web UI / WSMA Interface)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Python 3.x · requests library · colorama library · network access to vulnerable Cisco IOS XE device
devstral-2 · analyzed Apr 10, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP
by Religan · poc
https://github.com/Religan/CVE-2023-20198

This repository is a detailed academic case study analyzing CVE-2023-20198, a critical vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Web UI, including exploitation techniques and mitigation strategies. It does not contain actual exploit code but provides documentation and research findings.

Classification
Writeup 100%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: Cisco IOS XE Web UI (vulnerable versions)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Cisco IOS XE with Web UI enabled · Network access to the vulnerable device
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by Arshit01 · remote
https://github.com/Arshit01/CVE-2023-20198

This exploit PoC targets CVE-2023-20198, a vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE software. It leverages SOAP-based command injection to execute arbitrary commands, add/delete users, or retrieve configurations on vulnerable devices.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (versions affected by CVE-2023-20198)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Network access to the target device · Valid credentials for authentication
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP
by DOMINIC471 · poc
https://github.com/DOMINIC471/qub-network-security-cve-2023-20198

This repository provides a detailed technical analysis of CVE-2023-20198, focusing on Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) derived from PCAP files. It includes Snort rules and iptables configurations for detection and mitigation, but does not contain functional exploit code.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to vulnerable Cisco IOS XE device · Network access to target
devstral-2 · analyzed Apr 22, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by djayaGit · remote
https://github.com/djayaGit/cve-2023-20198-poc-cisco

This PoC exploits CVE-2023-20198, a path traversal vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Web UI, allowing unauthenticated remote command execution via double-encoded HTTP requests to bypass Nginx path filtering and interact with the WSMA endpoint.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Web UI (versions prior to fix)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to vulnerable Cisco IOS XE Web UI · Web UI feature enabled on the target device
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by sanan2004 · remote
https://github.com/sanan2004/CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a functional exploit PoC for CVE-2023-20198, an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE. The exploit leverages improper path validation to bypass Nginx filtering and interact with the `webui_wsma_http` endpoint, allowing arbitrary command execution and configuration changes with Privilege 15 access.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (versions affected by CVE-2023-20198)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target device · Cisco IOS XE device with vulnerable web UI exposed
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP
by netbell · poc
https://github.com/netbell/CVE-2023-20198-Fix

This repository provides an Ansible playbook for remediating CVE-2023-20198, a vulnerability in certain Cisco devices. It includes steps to disable the web service and check for exploitation signs, along with Metasploit verification commands.

Classification
Writeup 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS-XE
Auth required
Prerequisites: Ansible 2.9 or newer · Credentials for Cisco IOS-XE devices
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec STUB
by ohlawd · poc
https://github.com/ohlawd/CVE-2023-20198

The repository contains only a placeholder script with no functional exploit code. It appears to be a joke or an incomplete stub rather than a legitimate PoC.

Classification
Stub 100%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: unknown
No auth needed
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER
by reket99 · poc
https://github.com/reket99/Cisco_CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a Python script to scan for CVE-2023-20198, a vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software. The script checks for the presence of a malicious implant by sending a POST request to a specific endpoint and analyzing the response length.

Classification
Scanner 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE Software
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target device · Python 3.7+ with required libraries
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER
by JoyGhoshs · poc
https://github.com/JoyGhoshs/CVE-2023-20198

This repository contains a scanner for CVE-2023-20198, which checks if a Cisco IOS-XE WebUI is vulnerable by detecting a hexadecimal string in the response. It does not exploit the vulnerability but confirms its presence.

Classification
Scanner 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS-XE WebUI
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target Cisco IOS-XE WebUI
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER
by raystr-atearedteam · poc
https://github.com/raystr-atearedteam/CVE-2023-20198-checker

This script scans a given subnet for CVE-2023-20198 by sending a POST request to a specific endpoint and checking the response length for potential indicators of compromise. It uses multithreading to efficiently scan multiple IPs concurrently.

Classification
Scanner 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco BroadWorks (specific version not specified)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target subnet · Python environment with required libraries (requests)
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
vulncheck_xdb SCANNER
infoleak
https://github.com/Ostorlab/known_exploited_vulnerbilities_detectors

This repository is a scanner for detecting known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs) using Nuclei templates and other tools like Tsunami and Nmap. It does not contain exploit code but rather detection templates for various CVEs.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Multiple (KEV catalog)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Ostorlab CLI · Docker
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 25, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC
by sfewer-r7 · rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_cli_exec_cve_2023_20198.rb

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2023-20198 to execute arbitrary CLI commands with privilege level 15 on vulnerable Cisco IOS XE devices via the Web UI. It supports command execution in user, privileged, or global configuration modes.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (multiple versions listed in the code)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Web UI exposed on the target device · Vulnerable Cisco IOS XE version
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC
by sfewer-r7 · rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/http/cisco_ios_xe_os_exec_cve_2023_20273.rb

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2023-20198 and CVE-2023-20273 to achieve unauthenticated OS command execution on vulnerable Cisco IOS XE devices. It creates a temporary admin user, executes arbitrary commands via command injection, and cleans up by removing the user and output files.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (versions 16.1.1 to 17.12.1a, excluding C8000v 17.6.5)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Web UI exposed on port 443 · Vulnerable Cisco IOS XE version
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC EXCELLENT
by sfewer-r7 · rubypoclinux
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/misc/cisco_ios_xe_rce.rb

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2023-20198 and CVE-2023-20273 to achieve unauthenticated remote code execution on vulnerable Cisco IOS XE devices with the Web UI exposed. It leverages a chain of vulnerabilities to execute commands with root privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Cisco IOS XE (versions 16.1.1 through 17.12.1a, excluding some specific builds)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Web UI exposed on the target device · Vulnerable Cisco IOS XE version
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

Nuclei Templates (1)

Cisco IOS XE Web UI - Command Injection
CRITICALVERIFIEDby iamnoooob,rootxharsh,pdresearch,nullenc0de
Shodan: http.html_hash:1076109428

Scores

CVSS v3 10.0
EPSS 0.9401
EPSS Percentile 99.9%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation active
Automatable yes
Technical Impact total

Details

CISA KEV 2023-10-16
VulnCheck KEV 2023-10-16
InTheWild.io 2023-10-16
ENISA EUVD EUVD-2023-24377
Ransomware Use Confirmed
CWE
CWE-420
Status published
Products (3)
cisco/ios_xe 16.12 - 16.12.10a
rockwellautomation/allen-bradley_stratix_5200_firmware < 17.12.02
rockwellautomation/allen-bradley_stratix_5800_firmware < 17.12.02
Published Oct 16, 2023
KEV Added Oct 16, 2023
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026