VulnerabilityPublished 13 Nov 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-20341: Cisco Digital Network Architecture Center (DNA Center) · Improper Access Control

Affects Cisco Digital Network Architecture Center (DNA Center)Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.8High

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

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 43% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
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: 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: 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 13 Nov 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
Ciscocisco/dna-center`pkg:rpm/cisco/dna-center`Other threats	Affected 2.3.7.5-VA – 2.3.7.9-VA 4 affected builds	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Organizations should immediately identify and inventory all Cisco DNA Center Virtual Appliance instances running affected versions (2.3.7.5-VA through 2.3.7.9.75403.10-VA). Cisco should be monitored closely for official patches or updates addressing this vulnerability, and these should be applied promptly once available. Until patches are released, organizations should enforce strict access controls, limiting Observer role assignments to trusted personnel only and employing strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of credential compromise. Network segmentation should be implemented to isolate management appliances from general user networks and restrict access to the DNA Center interface to trusted IP addresses. Regular auditing of user accounts and privileges should be conducted to detect unauthorized changes. Additionally, monitoring and alerting on anomalous HTTP requests to the DNA Center appliance can help detect exploitation attempts. Incident response plans should be updated to include this vulnerability scenario, and staff should be trained to recognize signs of privilege escalation attacks within network management systems.

Description

A vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst Center Virtual Appliance could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privileges to Administrator on an affected system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted HTTP request to an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform unauthorized modifications to the system, including creating new user accounts or elevating their own privileges on an affected system. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid credentials for a user account with at least the role of Observer.

Impact

The impact of CVE-2025-20341 is substantial for organizations using Cisco DNA Center Virtual Appliance in their network infrastructure. Successful exploitation grants attackers Administrator-level privileges, compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the network management system. This can lead to unauthorized creation or modification of user accounts, potentially enabling persistent unauthorized access and lateral movement within the network. The attacker could manipulate network configurations, disrupt network operations, or exfiltrate sensitive network data. Given Cisco DNA Center's role in automating and managing complex enterprise networks, this vulnerability could severely disrupt business operations, cause data breaches, and undermine trust in network security. The requirement for valid credentials at the Observer level means insider threats or compromised low-privilege accounts pose a realistic risk. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as exploit code may emerge following public disclosure.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-catc-priv-esc-VS8EeCuX (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 04:49 UTC

Technical details

References

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