VulnerabilityPublished 4 Jun 2025Updated 5 Jun 2025

CVE-2025-20286: Cisco Identity Services Engine Software · Use of Hard-coded Password

Affects Cisco Identity Services Engine SoftwareSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.9 Critical.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.9Critical

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

EPSS: 1.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 66% 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:L/I:L/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on 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 4 Jun 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 26 Oct 2026.

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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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 – 3.4.0 4 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately assess their Cisco ISE deployments to determine if the Primary Administration node is cloud-hosted and if the affected versions are in use. Specific mitigation steps include: 1) Upgrading Cisco ISE to the latest patched versions where Cisco has addressed the credential generation issue; 2) Restricting network access to Cisco ISE management interfaces by implementing strict firewall rules and network segmentation to limit exposure to unsecured ports; 3) Employing multi-factor authentication (MFA) and strong access controls around Cisco ISE administrative interfaces; 4) Monitoring network traffic and logs for suspicious access patterns indicative of credential reuse or unauthorized administrative actions; 5) Considering migration of Primary Administration nodes to on-premises environments where feasible to avoid exposure; 6) Applying cloud provider security best practices such as private networking, VPNs, or dedicated connectivity to reduce attack surface; 7) Conducting regular security audits and penetration testing focused on Cisco ISE deployments; 8) Preparing incident response plans specifically addressing potential compromise scenarios related to this vulnerability. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on deployment architecture, access controls, and proactive detection tailored to the nature of this vulnerability.

Description

A vulnerability in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) cloud deployments of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to access sensitive data, execute limited administrative operations, modify system configurations, or disrupt services within the impacted systems. This vulnerability exists because credentials are improperly generated when Cisco ISE is being deployed on cloud platforms, resulting in different Cisco ISE deployments sharing the same credentials. These credentials are shared across multiple Cisco ISE deployments as long as the software release and cloud platform are the same. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by extracting the user credentials from Cisco ISE that is deployed in the cloud and then using them to access Cisco ISE that is deployed in other cloud environments through unsecured ports. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to access sensitive data, execute limited administrative operations, modify system configurations, or disrupt services within the impacted systems. Note: If the Primary Administration node is deployed in the cloud, then Cisco ISE is affected by this vulnerability. If the Primary Administration node is on-premises, then it is not affected.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a severe risk, especially for those leveraging Cisco ISE in cloud environments to manage network access and security policies. Cisco ISE is widely used in enterprises and government sectors for identity and access management, network segmentation, and policy enforcement. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive corporate or governmental data, manipulation of network access controls, and potential disruption of critical network services. Given the shared credentials across deployments, a single compromised instance could cascade into multiple affected environments, amplifying the impact. This could result in data breaches, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR violations), operational downtime, and reputational damage. The ability to perform administrative operations remotely without authentication further exacerbates the threat, enabling attackers to pivot within networks or disrupt services at scale. The impact is particularly critical for sectors with stringent security requirements such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and public administration within Europe.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-aws-static-cred-FPMjUcm7 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Jul 2025, 10:09 UTC

Technical details

References

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