• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

China Presses Nvidia Over Alleged Backdoors in H20 Chips Amid Tech Tensions

 | 

Malicious AI-generated npm package hits Solana users

 | 

Meta Offers $1M bounty at Pwn2Own Ireland 2025 for WhatsApp exploits

 | 

ToolShell under siege: Check Point analyzes Chinese APT Storm-2603

 | 

CISA released Thorium platform to support malware and forensic analysis

 | 

Russia-linked APT Secret Blizzard targets foreign embassies in Moscow with ApolloShadow malware

 | 

Dahua Camera flaws allow remote hacking. Update firmware now

 | 

Researchers released a decryptor for the FunkSec ransomware

 | 

Apple fixed a zero-day exploited in attacks against Google Chrome users

 | 

PyPI maintainers alert users to email verification phishing attack

 | 

FBI seizes 20 BTC from Chaos Ransomware affiliate targeting Texas firms

 | 

Critical SAP flaw exploited to launch Auto-Color Malware attack on U.S. company

 | 

Orange reports major cyberattack, warns of service disruptions

 | 

Hackers leak images and comments from women dating safety app Tea

 | 

Pro-Ukraine hacktivists claim cyberattack on Russian Airline Aeroflot that caused the cancellation of +100 flights

 | 

Seychelles Commercial Bank Reported Cybersecurity Incident

 | 

Microsoft uncovers macOS flaw allowing bypass TCC protections and exposing sensitive data

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Cisco ISE and PaperCut NG/MF flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Critical WordPress Post SMTP plugin flaw exposes 200K+ sites to full takeover

 | 

Scattered Spider targets VMware ESXi in using social engineering

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Hacking
  • Security
  • Cisco warns of active exploitation of IOS XE zero-day

Cisco warns of active exploitation of IOS XE zero-day

Pierluigi Paganini October 16, 2023

Cisco warned customers of a critical zero-day vulnerability in its IOS XE Software that is actively exploited in attacks.

Cisco warned customers of a zero-day vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-20198 (CVSS score 10), in its IOS XE Software that is actively exploited in attacks. The IT giant found the vulnerability during the resolution of multiple Technical Assistance Center (TAC) support cases.

The vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker to gain administrator privileges and take over vulnerable routers.

The advisory published by the vendor states that the exploitation of the vulnerability allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to create an account on an affected system with privilege level 15 access.

“Cisco is aware of active exploitation of a previously unknown vulnerability in the web UI feature of Cisco IOS XE Software when exposed to the internet or to untrusted networks.” reads the advisory published by the company. “This vulnerability allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to create an account on an affected system with privilege level 15 access. The attacker can then use that account to gain control of the affected system.”

The flaw affects physical and virtual devices running with the Web User Interface (Web UI) feature enabled and that have the HTTP or HTTPS Server feature in use.

The company urges administrators to check the system logs for the presence of any of the following log messages where the user could be cisco_tac_admin, cisco_support, or any configured, local user that is unknown to the network.

New critical vulnerability #CVE-2023-20198 affecting Cisco IOS XE devices when Web UI is enabled.
⚠ CVSS: 10
❌ Fixes : not available

Related to the attack:
5.149.249[.]74
154.53.56[.]231

Cisco provided some way to check if the system might be compromised 1/2

— CERT Orange Cyberdefense (@CERTCyberdef) October 16, 2023

Cisco Talos researchers first spotted attacks exploiting the flaw on September 28, 2023.

“The activity included an authorized user creating a local user account under the username “cisco_tac_admin” from a suspicious IP address (5.149.249[.]74). Instances of this activity ended on October 1, and we did not observe any other associated behavior at that time other than the suspicious account creation.” states Cisco Talos. “On October 12, Cisco Talos Incident Response (Talos IR) and TAC detected what we later determined to be an additional cluster of related activity that began on that same day. In this cluster, an unauthorized user was observed creating a local user account under the name “cisco_support” from a second suspicious IP address (154.53.56[.]231). Unlike the September case, this October activity included several subsequent actions, including the deployment of an implant consisting of a configuration file (“cisco_service.conf”).”

The researchers believe that the clusters of activity were likely carried out by the same actor.

The cluster observed in September likely was an initial attempt of the threat actors to test their code, while the October activity was linked to the expansion of the operation to include establishing persistent access via the deployment of the implant.

Cisco recommends admins to disable the HTTP server feature on systems exposed on the Internet.

“Cisco strongly recommends that customers disable the HTTP Server feature on all internet-facing systems. To disable the HTTP Server feature, use the no ip http server or no ip http secure-server command in global configuration mode. If both the HTTP server and HTTPS server are in use, both commands are required to disable the HTTP Server feature.” concludes the advisory that also includes Indicators of Compromise (IoCs).”After disabling the HTTP Server feature, use the copy running-configuration startup-configuration command to save the running-configuration. This will ensure that the HTTP Server feature is not unexpectedly enabled in the event of a system reload.”

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, zero-day)


facebook linkedin twitter

CISCO Hacking hacking news information security news IOS XE IT Information Security Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News zero-Day

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini August 02, 2025
China Presses Nvidia Over Alleged Backdoors in H20 Chips Amid Tech Tensions
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini August 01, 2025
Malicious AI-generated npm package hits Solana users
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    China Presses Nvidia Over Alleged Backdoors in H20 Chips Amid Tech Tensions

    Intelligence / August 02, 2025

    Malicious AI-generated npm package hits Solana users

    Malware / August 01, 2025

    Meta Offers $1M bounty at Pwn2Own Ireland 2025 for WhatsApp exploits

    Hacking / August 01, 2025

    ToolShell under siege: Check Point analyzes Chinese APT Storm-2603

    APT / August 01, 2025

    CISA released Thorium platform to support malware and forensic analysis

    Cyber Crime / August 01, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT