CVE-2025-20257 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Cisco Secure Network Analytics Manager and Cisco Secure Network Analytics Virtual Manager, specifically version 7.5.2. The flaw exists in an API subsystem where insufficient authorization enforcement allows an authenticated attacker with low privileges to manipulate the system. By exploiting this vulnerability, the attacker can perform crafted API calls to generate fraudulent findings. These falsified findings can trigger alarms and alerts, effectively allowing the attacker to create false positives or obfuscate legitimate security events within the analytics reports. This manipulation undermines the integrity of the security monitoring data, potentially causing security teams to misinterpret the network state or overlook genuine threats. The vulnerability requires the attacker to have valid low-privileged credentials but does not require user interaction, and it can be exploited remotely over the network. The CVSS v3.1 score is 6.5, reflecting a medium severity level, with a vector indicating network attack vector, low attack complexity, privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, no confidentiality impact, high integrity impact, and no availability impact.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be significant, especially for those relying on Cisco Secure Network Analytics for network security monitoring and threat detection. The ability of an attacker to generate false alarms or hide real threats can degrade the effectiveness of security operations centers (SOCs), leading to delayed or missed incident responses. This can increase the risk of successful cyberattacks going undetected, potentially resulting in data breaches, intellectual property theft, or disruption of critical services. The integrity compromise of security analytics data can also erode trust in automated detection systems and complicate forensic investigations. Organizations in sectors with high regulatory requirements, such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, may face compliance risks if security monitoring is compromised. While the vulnerability does not directly impact confidentiality or availability, the indirect consequences of misleading security alerts can be severe.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should prioritize upgrading Cisco Secure Network Analytics Manager and Virtual Manager to a patched version once Cisco releases it. Until a patch is available, organizations should implement strict access controls to limit API access only to trusted and necessary users, minimizing the number of low-privileged accounts that can authenticate to the system. Monitoring and logging API usage for anomalous or suspicious activity can help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should validate and cross-check security findings with other monitoring tools to identify inconsistencies that may indicate manipulation. Network segmentation and the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users accessing the analytics platform can further reduce risk. Regular security audits and penetration testing focused on API security can help uncover similar authorization weaknesses proactively.