CVE-2023-20118: Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers

Should you act?

Exploited: patch now if you run it

CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

Yes, if you run Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers. CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-03-03, which means there is reliable evidence of exploitation in the wild. US federal agencies must remediate by 2025-03-24; treat that as the outer limit, not the target.
EPSS 54.1%, percentile 99: FIRST’s model estimates a 54.1% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 99% of all scored CVEs (very high). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
Needs an account (high (admin)). Exposure depends on who can log in.

What it is

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"])}]]

CISA’s summary

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.

Weakness type: CWE-77.

Product: Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers · Assigned by: cisco · Published: 2023-04-05

Affected and fixed versions

Vendor	Product	Affected versions (per CVE record)
Cisco	Cisco Small Business RV Series Router Firmware	1.0.1.17, 1.0.2.03, 1.1.0.09, 1.1.1.19, 1.1.1.06, 1.2.1.13, 1.2.1.14, 1.3.1.12, 1.3.2.02, 1.3.1.10, 1.4.2.15, 1.4.2.17

Severity scores

Scored by	CVSS	Score	Vector
cisco	3.1	6.5 Medium	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`

Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
Attack complexity: low
Privileges required: high (admin)
User interaction: none
Scope: unchanged

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

CISA KEV: added 2025-03-03; federal due date 2025-03-24. Known ransomware use: Unknown.
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.
CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 54.11% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 99.

Timeline

2023-04-05 — CVE record published by cisco
2025-03-03 — Added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
2025-03-24 — CISA remediation deadline for US federal agencies
2025-10-21 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.