CVE-2023-20235 Privilege escalation in Cisco IOS XE Software

Medium 6.5 Published 4 Oct 2023 Updated 25 Feb 2026

Authenticated attackers can gain root access on Cisco IOS XE devices by exploiting privileged Docker containers in application development mode.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: An administrator
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2023-20235?

CVE-2023-20235 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 4 Oct 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

Official description

A vulnerability in the on-device application development workflow feature for the Cisco IOx application hosting infrastructure in Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to access the underlying operating system as the root user. This vulnerability exists because Docker containers with the privileged runtime option are not blocked when they are in application development mode. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using the Docker CLI to access an affected device. The application development workflow is meant to be used only on development systems and not in production systems.

Weakness: CWE-269, CWE-552

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-20235?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Cisco Ios Xe.

How do I fix CVE-2023-20235?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-20235 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Is CVE-2023-20235 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20235 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Cisco Ios Xe vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-j6h7-r25f-wgww.