Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-20076

RCE in Cisco 829 Industrial Integrated Services Router Firmware ≤ 15.9\(3\)

RCECommand Injection
Published
12 February 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.2
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:H
EPSS Score 0.015 72th percentile
Risk Priority 56 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-20076 is a high-severity Improper Handling of Parameters (CWE-233) vulnerability in Cisco 829 Industrial Integrated Services Router Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 28% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability in the Cisco IOx application hosting environment could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying host operating system. This vulnerability is due to incomplete sanitization of parameters that are passed in…

more

for activation of an application. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by deploying and activating an application in the Cisco IOx application hosting environment with a crafted activation payload file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying host operating system.

CWE(s)
CWE-233CWE-78

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-20708Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20007Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2021-1473Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2025-20186Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2025-20193Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2025-20194Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2024-20306Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2023-20231Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2019-1652Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20082Same product: Cisco Ios Xe

Affected Assets

cisco
ic3000 industrial compute gateway
≤ 1.4.2
cisco
iox
all versions
cisco
ios xe
17.10.0 · ≤ 17.6.5 · 17.9.0 — 17.9.2
cisco
cgr1240 firmware
≤ 1.16.0.1
cisco
cgr1000 firmware
≤ 1.16.0.1
cisco
ir510 wpan firmware
≤ 1.10.0.1
cisco
829 industrial integrated services router firmware
15.9\(3\)m, 15.9\(3\)m1, 15.9\(3\)m2, 15.9\(3\)m2a, 15.9\(3\)m3 · ≤ 15.9\(3\)
cisco
807 industrial integrated services router firmware
15.9\(3\)m, 15.9\(3\)m1, 15.9\(3\)m2, 15.9\(3\)m2a, 15.9\(3\)m3 · ≤ 15.9\(3\)
cisco
809 industrial integrated services router firmware
15.9\(3\)m, 15.9\(3\)m1, 15.9\(3\)m2, 15.9\(3\)m2a, 15.9\(3\)m3 · ≤ 15.9\(3\)

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V15.2.5

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.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-78

Platform-independent apps typically execute inside a managed runtime or sandbox that restricts direct OS command execution, reducing the ability to exploit OS command injection.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-78

Validates inputs to block special elements that would alter OS command execution.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

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

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and correct parameter handling to avoid this weakness.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect missing-parameter issues but does not prevent them at design time.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle includes input validation and parameter handling requirements that reduce improper parameter handling.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for validation of inputs and parameters, mitigating missing or undefined arguments.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly address proper handling of function parameters and input validation.

References