# CVE-2023-20118: Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers Command Injection

> Authenticated attackers can execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on Cisco Small Business Routers via the web interface.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 3 Mar 2025 (CISA KEV)
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Apr 2023
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gr43-pwpc-mp54

## What is CVE-2023-20118?

CVE-2023-20118 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Rv320 Firmware, published on 5 Apr 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Small Business Routers RV016, RV042, RV042G, RV082, RV320, and RV325 Routers could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on an affected device.

 This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user input within incoming HTTP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to the web-based management interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain root-level privileges and access unauthorized data. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to have valid administrative credentials on the affected device.

 Cisco has not and will not release software updates that address this vulnerability.   However, administrators may disable the affected feature as described in the Workarounds ["#workarounds"] section.

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Weakness: CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-20118?

It affects 6 products.


Products: Cisco Rv016 Firmware, Cisco Rv042 Firmware, Cisco Rv042g Firmware, Cisco Rv082 Firmware, Cisco Rv320 Firmware, Cisco Rv325 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-20118?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-20118 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 24 Mar 2025.

## Is CVE-2023-20118 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2023-20118 in the wild since at least 3 Mar 2025.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Rv320 Firmware

- [CVE-2023-20025](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20025/): Auth bypass in Cisco Small Business RV Series Router Firmware (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2020-3274](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3274/): Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers Command Injection Vulnerabilities (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2020-3275](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3275/): Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers Command Injection Vulnerabilities (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2020-3276](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3276/): Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers Command Injection Vulnerabilities (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2020-3277](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3277/): Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers Command Injection Vulnerabilities (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-20118 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-20118 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Rv320 Firmware, published on 5 Apr 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2023-20118 in the wild since at least 3 Mar 2025.

Affected product: Cisco Rv320 Firmware. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20118/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20118/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20118
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20118
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-20118

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20118/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.