Security Resilience

CVE-2023-20026

RCE in Cisco Rv016 Firmware

Published
20 January 2023
Modified
12 March 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.013 70th percentile
Risk Priority 51 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-20026 is a medium-severity Command Injection (CWE-77) vulnerability in Cisco Rv016 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 6.5 (Medium).

Operationally, ranked in the top 30% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Small Business 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…

more

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.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-20124Same product: Cisco Rv016
CVE-2023-20118Same product: Cisco Rv016
CVE-2025-20184Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20045Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2025-20146Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2018-0125Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2024-20406Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2009-2055Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2025-20393Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2024-20394Same vendor: Cisco

Affected Assets

cisco
rv016 firmware
all versions
cisco
rv042 firmware
all versions
cisco
rv042g firmware
all versions
cisco
rv082 firmware
all versions

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-20

Security testing and developer training directly verify and enforce proper input validation, reducing exploitability of injection and malformed-data weaknesses.

addresses: CWE-20

Security testing and evaluation at multiple SDLC stages directly detects missing or flawed input validation, with the required remediation process ensuring fixes are applied.

addresses: CWE-20

Directly implements checks on information inputs to reject invalid data before processing.

addresses: CWE-20

Spam protection mechanisms perform filtering and detection on inbound/outbound messages, directly compensating for missing or weak input validation of unsolicited content.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

blocks

A.8.25 mandates secure SDLC practices including secure coding guidelines, security requirements, checkpoints, testing (scans/penetration), and developer training that reduce command injection defects, but leaves a minority slice (e.g. incomplete implementation of those practices, outsourced development without full assurance, or post-SDLC changes) where the weakness can still arise and be exploitable.

blocks

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection flaws including command injection.

blocks

A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles (e.g. distrust external input, secure session control, data validation/sanitization, least privilege) and design reviews that can stop command injection from being introduced, but this is only a minority slice of CWE-77 because the weakness can still arise in code that bypasses those principles, in non-reviewed components, or in runtime injection vectors the architecture review does not reach.

prevents

Secure coding standards require proper escaping and parameterization of commands, directly eliminating CWE-77.

finds

Security testing in development catches command-injection vulnerabilities before release.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-77, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.
  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-20, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.

References