IRONSMITHINTEL
MEDIUMCVSS6.5
|
Actively Exploited
|CISA KEV|CVE-2023-20118|Auth: high — administrative privileges|Reboot: required|Manual only

Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers Command Injection Vulnerability

Multiple Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers contains a command injection vulnerability in the web-based management interface. Successful exploitation could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to gain root-level privileges and access unauthorized data.

Published Apr 13, 2023 · Updated May 16, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

A remote attacker, with administrative privileges, can achieve full data confidentiality loss, arbitrary modification of data. Federal agencies are required to remediate by 2025-03-24 under CISA BOD 22-01.

How the attack worksNo clicks needed

This is a Command Injection (CWE-77) vulnerability in Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers. A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Small Business Routers 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 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. Cisco has not and will not release software updates that address this vulnerability. However, administrators may disable the affected feature as described in the Workarounds ["#workarounds"] section. {{value}} ["%7b%7bvalue%7d%7d"])}]] Exploitation requires remote network access, low attack complexity, an administrative account, and no user interaction required.

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

Network Security Team
Firewall Administrators
IT Security
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

CISA added this CVE to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-03-03 based on evidence of active exploitation in the wild. Federal agencies required to remediate by 2025-03-24.

How to patch

Manual remediation steps

Apply the Vendor Patch

This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — apply the vendor's security update as soon as possible.

CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

References

    1
    Vendor advisory: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sbr042-multi-vuln-ej76Pke5
    1
    NVD entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20118
    1
    CISA KEV: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-20118
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