CVE-2025-20122 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting the CLI component of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (formerly Cisco SD-WAN vManage). This vulnerability arises from insufficient input validation within the CLI interface, which can be exploited by an authenticated local attacker who initially has only read-only privileges. By sending a specially crafted request to the CLI, the attacker can escalate their privileges to root on the underlying operating system. This escalation allows full control over the system, including the ability to modify configurations, execute arbitrary commands, and potentially pivot to other network resources managed by the SD-WAN Manager. The vulnerability affects a wide range of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager versions, spanning multiple major and minor releases, indicating a long-standing issue that has persisted across many updates. The CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8 reflects the high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, combined with the requirement for local authenticated access but no user interaction. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the potential for privilege escalation to root makes this vulnerability a critical risk for organizations relying on Cisco SD-WAN infrastructure for network management and security.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability is significant due to the widespread adoption of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager in enterprise and service provider networks across Europe. Successful exploitation could lead to complete compromise of the SD-WAN Manager system, enabling attackers to disrupt network operations, intercept or manipulate sensitive data, and undermine the integrity of network configurations. This could result in prolonged network outages, data breaches, and loss of trust in critical communication infrastructure. Given the central role of SD-WAN in managing distributed networks, especially for multinational corporations and public sector entities, the vulnerability poses a risk to business continuity and regulatory compliance, including GDPR requirements for data protection. The ability to gain root access also increases the risk of lateral movement within the network, potentially affecting other connected systems and services.

Organizations should immediately verify if their Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager deployments are running any of the affected versions listed. Cisco typically releases security patches for such vulnerabilities; therefore, applying the latest available patches or updates from Cisco is the primary mitigation step. If patches are not yet available, organizations should restrict access to the SD-WAN Manager CLI to trusted administrators only, enforce strong authentication mechanisms, and monitor for unusual CLI activity or privilege escalation attempts. Implementing strict role-based access controls (RBAC) to limit users to the minimum necessary privileges can reduce the attack surface. Network segmentation should be employed to isolate the SD-WAN Manager from less trusted network zones. Additionally, enabling comprehensive logging and alerting on the SD-WAN Manager can help detect exploitation attempts early. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments focused on SD-WAN infrastructure are recommended to ensure ongoing protection.