CVE-2025-20278 is a command injection vulnerability affecting multiple versions of Cisco Finesse, a component of Cisco Unified Communications solutions. The vulnerability arises from improper validation of user-supplied command arguments in the command-line interface (CLI) of the affected devices. An authenticated local attacker with valid administrative credentials can exploit this flaw by crafting malicious commands that the CLI improperly neutralizes, allowing arbitrary command execution on the underlying operating system with root privileges. This means the attacker can fully control the device, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, manipulation, or disruption of services. The vulnerability affects a broad range of Cisco Finesse versions, spanning from 10.5(1) to 12.6(2) releases, indicating a long-standing issue across many deployments. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.0 (medium severity), reflecting that exploitation requires local access and high privileges but results in high confidentiality and integrity impacts without affecting availability. No public exploits are currently known, but the risk remains significant due to the high privileges gained upon exploitation and the critical role Cisco Finesse plays in contact center and unified communications environments.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be substantial, especially for enterprises and service providers relying on Cisco Unified Communications for their contact centers and internal communications. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive communications data, manipulation or disruption of call routing, and potential lateral movement within the network due to root-level control of the affected device. This could compromise confidentiality of customer and employee information, integrity of communication workflows, and potentially lead to reputational damage and regulatory penalties under GDPR if personal data is exposed or mishandled. Given the critical nature of unified communications in business operations, disruption or compromise could also impact business continuity and customer service quality.

Organizations should immediately verify if their Cisco Finesse deployments are running affected versions and prioritize patching as soon as Cisco releases security updates addressing this vulnerability. Until patches are available, strict access controls must be enforced to limit CLI access to trusted administrators only, employing network segmentation and multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of credential compromise. Monitoring and logging CLI access attempts should be enhanced to detect suspicious activities indicative of exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should review and harden administrative credential management practices, including regular password rotation and use of least privilege principles. Deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions on management workstations can help identify malicious command execution patterns. Finally, consider isolating Cisco Finesse management interfaces from general network access to minimize exposure.