CVE-2025-20338VulnerabilityPublished 24 Sep 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-20338: Cisco IOS XE Software · Improper Neutralization of Parameter/Argument Delimiters

Affects Cisco IOS XE SoftwareSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.0 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.0Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 22% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
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: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
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: 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: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 Sep 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 2026-10-25.

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 IOS XE Software	Affected =3.5.0 =3.5.1 =3.5.2 =3.5.3 =3.11.1 =3.11.2 =3.11.0 =3.11.3 =3.11.4 =3.12.0 =3.12.1 =3.12.2 =3.12.3 =3.12.4 =3.13.0 =3.13.1 =3.13.2 =3.13.3 =3.13.4 =3.13.5 =3.13.6 =3.13.7 =3.13.8 =3.13.9 =3.13.10 =3.6.0 =3.6.1 =3.6.2 =3.6.3 =3.6.4 =3.6.5 =3.6.6 =3.6.7 =3.6.8 =3.6.9 =3.6.10 =3.14.0 =3.14.1 =3.14.2 =3.14.3 =3.14.4 =3.15.0 =3.15.1 =3.15.2 =3.15.3 =3.15.4 =3.7.0 =3.7.1 =3.7.2 =3.7.3 =3.7.4 =3.7.5 =3.5.4 =3.5.5 =3.5.6 =3.5.7 =3.5.8 =3.16.0 =3.16.1 =3.16.2 =3.16.3 =3.16.4 =3.16.5 =3.16.6 =3.16.7 =3.16.8 =3.16.9 =3.16.10 =3.17.0 =3.17.1 =3.17.2 =3.17.3 =3.17.4 =3.8.0 =3.8.1 =3.8.2 =3.8.3 =3.8.4 =3.8.5 =3.8.6 =3.8.7 =3.8.8 =3.8.9 =3.8.10 =3.18.0 =3.18.1 =3.18.2 =3.18.3 =3.18.4 =3.18.5 =3.18.6 =3.18.7 =3.18.9 =3.9.0 =3.9.1 =3.9.2 =16.6.1 =16.6.2 =16.6.3 =16.6.4 =16.6.5 =16.6.6 =16.6.7 =16.6.8 =16.6.9 =16.6.10 =16.7.1 =16.7.2 =16.7.3 =16.7.4 =16.8.1 =16.8.2 =16.8.3 =16.9.1 =16.9.2 =16.9.3 =16.9.4 =16.9.5 =16.9.6 =16.9.7 =16.9.8 =16.10.1 =16.10.2 =16.10.3 =3.10.0 =3.10.1 =3.10.2 =3.10.3 =16.11.1 =16.11.2 =16.12.1 =16.12.2 =16.12.3 =16.12.8 =16.12.4 =16.12.5 =16.12.6 =16.12.7 =16.12.9 =16.12.10 =16.12.11 =16.12.12 =16.12.13 =3.11.5 =3.11.6 =3.11.7 =3.11.8 =3.11.9 =3.11.10 =3.11.11 =3.11.12 =17.1.1 =17.1.3 =17.2.1 =17.2.1v =17.2.2 =17.2.3 =17.3.1 =17.3.2 =17.3.3 =17.3.4 =17.3.5 =17.3.6 =17.3.7 =17.3.8 =17.4.1 =17.4.2 =17.5.1 =17.6.1 =17.6.2 =17.6.3 =17.6.4 =17.6.5 =17.6.6 =17.6.7 =17.6.8 =17.7.1 =17.7.2 =17.10.1 =17.8.1 =17.9.1 =17.9.2 =17.9.3 =17.9.4 =17.9.5 =17.9.6 =17.9.7 =17.11.1 =17.12.1 =17.12.2 =17.12.3 =17.12.4 =17.12.5 =17.13.1 =17.14.1 =17.15.1 =17.15.2 =17.15.3 =17.16.1	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Organizations should immediately review and restrict administrative CLI access to Cisco IOS XE devices, ensuring that only trusted personnel have level 15 privileges. Implement strong authentication mechanisms, including multi-factor authentication, to reduce the risk of credential compromise. Monitor CLI access logs for unusual or unauthorized command activity. Apply network segmentation and access control lists to limit management access to trusted networks and hosts. Although no official patches are currently available, organizations should stay alert for Cisco security advisories and apply updates promptly once released. Consider deploying intrusion detection systems capable of detecting anomalous CLI command patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. For environments where immediate patching is not feasible, consider temporary compensating controls such as disabling vulnerable CLI commands if possible or using role-based access control to limit command execution scope. Regularly audit device configurations and credentials to detect and remediate potential insider threats.

Description

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with administrative privileges to execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user arguments that are passed to specific CLI commands. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the device CLI with valid administrative (level 15) credentials and using crafted commands at the CLI prompt. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root.

Impact

The potential impact of CVE-2025-20338 is significant for organizations relying on Cisco IOS XE devices for critical network infrastructure, including enterprise networks, service providers, and data centers. Successful exploitation allows an attacker with administrative CLI access to execute arbitrary commands as root, potentially leading to full device compromise. This can result in unauthorized disclosure of sensitive configuration and operational data, manipulation or disruption of network traffic, and persistent backdoors or malware installation. The integrity of network operations can be severely affected, undermining trust in network security. Availability impact is limited as the vulnerability does not directly enable denial of service, but indirect effects from malicious commands could disrupt services. Since the vulnerability requires administrative credentials, the primary risk is from insider threats or attackers who have already compromised administrative accounts. However, given the critical role of Cisco IOS XE devices in global networks, exploitation could have cascading effects on business continuity and national infrastructure security.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxe-arg-inject-EyDDbh4e (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 00:24 UTC

Technical details

References

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