CVE-2025-20220 is a vulnerability identified in the command-line interface (CLI) of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software. This vulnerability arises from improper input validation of specific CLI commands, which allows an authenticated local attacker with valid Administrator credentials to perform OS command injection. By injecting malicious operating system commands into legitimate CLI commands, the attacker can escape the restricted command prompt environment and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges. This escalation of privileges can lead to full system compromise. The affected versions include multiple releases from 7.2.6 through 7.6.0, indicating a broad range of impacted deployments. The vulnerability requires local access and high privileges (Administrator credentials) to exploit, and no user interaction is needed once authenticated. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.0, reflecting a medium severity rating, with high impact on confidentiality and integrity but no impact on availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication, and no patches or mitigation links were provided in the advisory, emphasizing the need for vigilance and proactive defense measures.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk primarily to network security infrastructure relying on Cisco Firepower Management Center and Threat Defense products. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to gain root-level access to critical firewall management systems, potentially leading to unauthorized disclosure or modification of sensitive network security configurations and data. This could undermine the integrity of firewall policies, enabling further lateral movement or persistent access within enterprise networks. Given the central role of Cisco FMC in managing security policies and threat detection, compromise could disrupt incident response and network defense capabilities. The requirement for Administrator credentials limits the attack surface to insiders or attackers who have already breached initial defenses, but the elevated privileges gained could facilitate extensive damage. European organizations in sectors such as finance, telecommunications, government, and critical infrastructure that rely heavily on Cisco security products are particularly at risk of operational disruption and data breaches stemming from this vulnerability.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Immediately audit and restrict Administrator access to Cisco FMC and FTD CLI interfaces, enforcing the principle of least privilege and ensuring only trusted personnel have such access. 2) Monitor and log all CLI command usage on affected systems to detect anomalous or unauthorized command injection attempts. 3) Apply strict network segmentation and access controls to limit local access to the management interfaces, ideally restricting CLI access to dedicated management networks or jump hosts. 4) Regularly update and patch Cisco FMC and FTD software as Cisco releases security updates addressing this vulnerability; organizations should subscribe to Cisco security advisories for timely notifications. 5) Employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) for Administrator accounts to reduce the risk of credential compromise. 6) Conduct internal security awareness and training to prevent credential misuse and detect suspicious activities. 7) Consider deploying host-based intrusion detection systems (HIDS) on the underlying operating system to alert on unexpected command executions or privilege escalations. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control, monitoring, and rapid patch management tailored to the nature of this OS command injection vulnerability.