CVE-2025-20265VulnerabilityPublished 14 Aug 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-20265: Cisco Firepower Management Center · Injection

Affects Cisco Firepower Management CenterSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · 15% EPSS · CVSS 10.0 Critical.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

10.0Critical

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

EPSS: 15.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 96% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
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: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 14 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 Firepower Management Center	Affected =7.0.7 =7.7.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-20265, organizations should immediately assess whether Cisco Firepower Management Center instances are configured to use RADIUS authentication for web or SSH management interfaces. If so, restrict network access to these management interfaces using network segmentation, firewalls, and VPNs to limit exposure to trusted administrators only. Implement strict ingress filtering to block unauthorized traffic to the FMC management ports. Monitor logs and network traffic for unusual authentication attempts or command execution patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. Until official patches are released by Cisco, consider disabling RADIUS authentication on FMC management interfaces if operationally feasible, or switch to alternative authentication methods such as local accounts or TACACS+ that are not affected. Apply principle of least privilege to management accounts and enforce multi-factor authentication where possible. Regularly update and audit FMC software and configurations. Once Cisco releases patches or updates, prioritize their deployment in all affected environments. Additionally, conduct penetration testing and vulnerability scanning focused on FMC to detect potential exploitation.

Description

A vulnerability in the RADIUS subsystem implementation of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to inject arbitrary shell commands that are executed by the device.  This vulnerability is due to a lack of proper handling of user input during the authentication phase. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted input when entering credentials that will be authenticated at the configured RADIUS server. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands at a high privilege level. Note: For this vulnerability to be exploited, Cisco Secure FMC Software must be configured for RADIUS authentication for the web-based management interface, SSH management, or both.

Impact

The impact of CVE-2025-20265 is severe for organizations worldwide that deploy Cisco Firepower Management Center with RADIUS authentication enabled. Successful exploitation allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands with high privileges on the FMC device, potentially leading to full system compromise. This could result in unauthorized access to sensitive network management functions, manipulation or disruption of firewall policies, interception or alteration of network traffic, and lateral movement within the network. The compromise of FMC, a central security management platform, could undermine the entire security posture of an organization, affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical network infrastructure. Given the criticality and ease of exploitation, attackers could leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent footholds, deploy ransomware, or conduct espionage. The lack of authentication and user interaction requirements broadens the attack surface, making remote exploitation feasible from anywhere with network access to the FMC. Organizations in sectors with high security demands such as government, finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure are particularly at risk, as compromise could have cascading effects on national security and public safety.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Feb 2026, 22:22 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats