VulnerabilityPublished 24 Sep 2025Updated 15 Oct 2025

CVE-2025-20364: Cisco Aironet Access Point Software (IOS XE Controller) · Origin Validation Error

Affects Cisco Aironet Access Point Software (IOS XE Controller)Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 11:07 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 1% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Adjacent: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack, but the attack is limited at the protocol level to a logically adjacent topology. This can mean an attack must be launched from the same shared physical (e.g., Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11) or logical (e.g., local IP subnet) network, or from within a secure or otherwise limited administrative domain (e.g., MPLS, secure VPN to an administrative network zone).
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: 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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within 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: 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 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 Aironet Access Point Software (IOS XE Controller)	Affected 16.10.1 – 17.15.3 51 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

European organizations should prioritize upgrading affected Cisco Aironet Access Point Software to versions where this vulnerability is addressed once patches are released. Until patches are available, network administrators should implement wireless segmentation to isolate critical wireless clients and management traffic from general user access. Monitoring for anomalous 802.11 Device Analytics action frames using advanced wireless intrusion detection systems (WIDS) can help detect exploitation attempts. Restricting physical access to wireless infrastructure and limiting wireless signal leakage outside controlled areas reduces the risk of adjacent attackers. Additionally, validating and cross-referencing Device Analytics data with other network telemetry sources can help identify inconsistencies caused by injection attacks. Organizations should also review and tighten wireless controller configurations to minimize exposure of management interfaces and consider deploying network access control (NAC) solutions to enforce device authentication and integrity.

Description

A vulnerability in the Device Analytics action frame processing of Cisco Wireless Access Point (AP) Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to inject wireless 802.11 action frames with arbitrary information. This vulnerability is due to insufficient verification checks of incoming 802.11 action frames. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending 802.11 Device Analytics action frames with arbitrary parameters. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject Device Analytics action frames with arbitrary information, which could modify the Device Analytics data of valid wireless clients that are connected to the same wireless controller.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to the integrity of wireless network analytics data. Many enterprises, government agencies, and critical infrastructure operators in Europe rely on Cisco Aironet Access Points for wireless connectivity and network monitoring. Manipulated analytics data could lead to misinformed network management decisions, delayed detection of genuine threats, or misallocation of security resources. Although it does not directly compromise data confidentiality or availability, the indirect effects on network security posture could be significant, especially in sensitive sectors such as finance, healthcare, and public administration. The requirement for adjacent access limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk in densely populated or publicly accessible wireless environments. Attackers could be insiders or nearby adversaries leveraging this flaw to evade detection or disrupt network monitoring. Given the widespread deployment of Cisco Aironet products in Europe, the potential impact is moderate but non-negligible.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-action-frame-inj-QqCNcz8H (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 15 Oct 2025, 16:16 UTC

Technical details

References

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