CISA KEV source record / CVE-2023-20198

Cisco IOS XE Web UI Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Cisco / IOS XE Web UI

Known exploitation catalogNot a Secureline discoveryNot a live alert

Cisco IOS XE Web UI contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the web user interface that could allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to create an account with privilege level 15 access. The attacker can then use that account to gain control of the affected device.

CVE identifier: CVE-2023-20198
Added to KEV: Oct 16, 2023
CISA catalog dueDate: Oct 20, 2023

The dates above are catalog fields. The addition date does not establish when the vulnerability was discovered or first exploited. Confirm which requirements apply to your organisation separately.

Publisher's 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.

This wording is attributed to the CISA snapshot. Verify current vendor guidance, affected versions and your deployment before applying changes.

Keep the signals separate.

Ransomware use, as reported by CISA: Unknown
CVSS severity: Not supplied by KEV
EPSS probability: Not available

No EPSS value was supplied for this record in the current snapshot. Unknown values are not treated as zero.

“Unknown” ransomware use is an unknown source field, not proof that ransomware activity has not occurred.

Source notes

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ios-nx-os-software/ios-xe-dublin-17121/221128-software-fix-availability-for-cisco-ios.html; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20198

Source & freshness

Catalog version 2026.11.06
Source updated: Nov 6, 2026, 7:44 PM UTC
Successfully checked: Nov 7, 2026, 6:22 PM UTC

CISA source snapshot ↗CVE record ↗EPSS methodology ↗

Automated source record, not an editorial advisory or an independent discovery. No affected or fixed version is inferred, and no organisation-specific risk rating is generated.