CVE-2023-20231 Command injection in Cisco IOS XE Software

High 8.8 Published 27 Sep 2023 Updated 16 Dec 2025

Authenticated attackers with Lobby Ambassador credentials can inject CLI commands to execute arbitrary code with level 15 privileges on Cisco IOS XE devices.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2023-20231?

CVE-2023-20231 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 27 Sep 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

A vulnerability in the web UI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform an injection attack against an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted input to the web UI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary Cisco IOS XE Software CLI commands with level 15 privileges. Note: This vulnerability is exploitable only if the attacker obtains the credentials for a Lobby Ambassador account. This account is not configured by default.

Weakness: CWE-20, CWE-78

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-20231?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Cisco Ios Xe.

How do I fix CVE-2023-20231?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-20231 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade, and pass arguments to programs as a list instead of through a shell. More about Command injection.

Is CVE-2023-20231 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20231 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Cisco Ios Xe vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-hch7-v5wv-5w63.