CVE-2023-20035 | Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software Command Injection Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation by the system CLI. An attacker with privileges to run commands could exploit this vulnerability by first authenticating to an affected device using either local terminal access or a management shell interface and then submitting crafted input to the system CLI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system with root-level privileges. An attacker with limited user privileges could use this vulnerability to gain complete control over the system. Note: For additional information about specific impacts, see the Details section of this advisory.

Published: 2023-03-23 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-20035 is rated Low Risk (36.9/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.05%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-20035

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-16 0.22% 0.05% -0.17%
2 2026-03-25 0.05% 0.22% +0.17%
3 2026-01-17 0.05%

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-20035

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-20035

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-20035

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco ios_xe_sd-wan cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe_sd-wan:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-20035

cvelogic Threat Intelligence