VulnerabilityPublished 27 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-20290: Cisco NX-OS Software · Information Exposure

Affects Cisco NX-OS SoftwareSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 3% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
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: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 27 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 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 NX-OS Software	Affected 9.2 – 10.5 7 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Immediate review and restriction of local access to Cisco NX-OS devices and Fabric Interconnects to trusted administrators only, enforcing strict access controls and multi-factor authentication where possible.
Audit and monitor log file permissions and contents to ensure sensitive information is not exposed to unauthorized users; consider isolating log storage or encrypting log files at rest.
Disable or limit verbose logging features that may capture sensitive data until a vendor patch is available.
Regularly check Cisco security advisories and apply patches or software updates as soon as they are released addressing this vulnerability.
Implement network segmentation to limit the ability of an attacker with local access to move laterally across critical infrastructure.
Employ intrusion detection systems to monitor for unusual access patterns to log files or configuration changes on affected devices.
Conduct internal security assessments and penetration tests focusing on local privilege escalation and access to sensitive files on network devices.
Maintain an inventory of all affected Cisco NX-OS versions in use and prioritize upgrades or mitigations accordingly.

Description

A vulnerability in the logging feature of Cisco NX-OS Software for Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches, Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode, Cisco UCS 6400 Fabric Interconnects, Cisco UCS 6500 Series Fabric Interconnects, and Cisco UCS 9108 100G Fabric Interconnects could allow an authenticated, local attacker access to sensitive information. This vulnerability is due to improper logging of sensitive information. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by accessing log files on the file system where they are stored. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to access sensitive information, such as stored credentials.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-20290 can be substantial due to the widespread use of Cisco Nexus switches and UCS Fabric Interconnects in enterprise data centers, telecommunications, and cloud service providers. Exposure of sensitive credentials through log files could enable lateral movement within networks, unauthorized configuration changes, or interception of network traffic, potentially leading to data breaches or disruption of critical services. Given the medium severity and the requirement for authenticated local access, the threat is more pronounced in environments where internal access controls are weak or where attackers have already gained some foothold. The confidentiality breach could affect sensitive business data, intellectual property, and customer information, which is particularly critical under the GDPR regulatory framework in Europe. Additionally, compromised network infrastructure could impact availability indirectly by enabling attackers to manipulate network configurations or launch further attacks. The lack of known exploits currently provides a window for mitigation, but the broad range of affected versions means many organizations could be vulnerable if they have not updated or audited their logging configurations.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-nxos-infodis-TEcTYSFG (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Aug 2025, 16:50 UTC

Technical details

References

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