Skip to main content
No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2023-20161

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2023-05-18
  • Fixed in2.5.9.16
  • WeaknessCWE-120

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based user interface of certain Cisco Small Business Series Switches could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition or execute arbitrary code with root privileges on an affected device. These vulnerabilities are due to improper validation of requests that are sent to the web interface. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2023-05-1803:15CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2026-10-2319:23EPSS crossed 10 %FIRST EPSS

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-20161?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-20161?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

CISA-ADP
Cisco 250 series smart switches firmware
BranchAffectedFixed in
2.5< 2.5.9.162.5.9.16
Cisco 350 series managed switches firmware
BranchAffectedFixed in
2.5< 2.5.9.162.5.9.16
Cisco 350x series stackable managed switches firmware
BranchAffectedFixed in
2.5< 2.5.9.162.5.9.16

235 more products in the sources.

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

  1. Update Cisco 250 series smart switches firmware to 2.5.9.16

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
none listed
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionnone2024-10-28
  • OpenCVESSVC decisionnone—
  • CNACVSS 3.18.6read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.19.8read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-120read 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-120read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score10.3 %read 2026-10-23

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2023-05-18
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-20161?

Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based user interface of certain Cisco Small Business Series Switches could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition or execute arbitrary code with root privileges on an affected device. These vulnerabilities are due to improper validation of requests that are sent to the web interface. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.

Is CVE-2023-20161 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2023-20161 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 10.3% on 2026-10-23, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-20161?

CVE-2023-20161 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Hear about the next vulnerability in your software

Surveillance reads the versions in your stack — a domain, a lockfile or a list — checks each CVE against the ranges its sources publish, and alerts you when one you run is exploited or enters CISA KEV. A version it cannot read stays « version not verified ».

Get alerts for this productCISA KEV additions, October 2026Search CVEs

No credit card required · No monthly cap on website lookups · 250 API requests/month

Go further

Related vulnerabilities

Same product first, then the same vendor advisory and the same publication week.

Back to CVE Database