CVE-2025-20131VulnerabilityPublished 20 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-20131: Cisco Identity Services Engine Software · Improper Access Control

Affects Cisco Identity Services Engine SoftwareSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.9 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.9Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 22% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 20 Aug 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Cisco Cisco Identity Services Engine Software	Affected =3.1.0 =3.2.0 =2.7.0 =3.3.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Immediate mitigation should focus on restricting administrative access to Cisco ISE GUI to trusted personnel only, enforcing strong multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of credential compromise. 2. Network segmentation should be applied to isolate Cisco ISE servers from general user networks and limit exposure to only necessary management workstations. 3. Monitor and audit administrative activities on Cisco ISE systems to detect any unusual file upload attempts or configuration changes. 4. Apply the latest Cisco ISE software updates and patches as soon as they become available, as Cisco is expected to release a fix addressing this improper access control vulnerability. 5. Implement strict file upload policies and validation controls where possible, and consider additional endpoint security controls to detect and block unauthorized files or scripts on the ISE server. 6. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on administrative interfaces to identify and remediate similar access control weaknesses. 7. Educate administrators on the risks of credential compromise and the importance of secure password management and MFA usage.

Description

A vulnerability in the GUI of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with administrative privileges to upload files to an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of the file copy function. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted file upload using the Cisco ISE GUI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to upload arbitrary files to an affected system.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be considerable, especially for enterprises, government agencies, and critical infrastructure operators that rely on Cisco ISE for network access control and security policy enforcement. Successful exploitation could allow an attacker with administrative access to upload arbitrary files, potentially deploying malicious scripts or tools that compromise the integrity of the ISE system. This could lead to unauthorized changes in network access policies, creation of backdoors, or disruption of security monitoring functions. Given the central role of ISE in controlling network access, such compromise could facilitate lateral movement within corporate networks, exposing sensitive data or critical systems. The medium severity score reflects that while the vulnerability requires administrative credentials, the consequences of exploitation could undermine network security posture and trust in access control mechanisms. European organizations with strict regulatory requirements such as GDPR may face compliance risks if such a compromise leads to data breaches or unauthorized access. Additionally, the lack of known exploits currently provides a window for proactive mitigation before active attacks emerge.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-file-upload-qksX6C8g (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 20 Aug 2025, 16:49 UTC

Technical details

References

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