CVE-2025-20374 is a path traversal vulnerability identified in the web user interface of Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (UCCX), a widely deployed contact center management solution. The root cause is insufficient input validation on specific UI features, allowing an authenticated attacker with administrative credentials to craft malicious requests that traverse directories beyond the intended restricted paths. This enables the attacker to read arbitrary files on the underlying operating system, potentially exposing sensitive configuration files, credentials, or other confidential data stored on the server. The vulnerability affects a broad range of Cisco UCCX versions from 10.5(1)SU1 through 15.0.1, including various service updates and extended support releases. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.9, reflecting medium severity due to the requirement for high privileges (administrative access) and the lack of impact on integrity or availability. The attack vector is network-based with low complexity and no user interaction needed. Although no known exploits have been reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a significant confidentiality risk, especially in environments where administrative credentials might be compromised or shared. Cisco has not yet published patches or mitigation guidance, so organizations must monitor for updates and consider compensating controls. Given the critical role of UCCX in managing customer interactions, unauthorized file access could lead to exposure of sensitive customer data, internal configurations, or security credentials, increasing the risk of further compromise or data breaches.

For European organizations, the primary impact is the potential exposure of sensitive files on Cisco UCCX servers, which often contain customer data, call recordings, configuration files, and authentication credentials. This confidentiality breach could lead to data privacy violations under GDPR, resulting in regulatory penalties and reputational damage. Since the vulnerability requires administrative credentials, the risk is heightened if credential management is weak or if insider threats exist. The inability to modify or disrupt services limits the impact on availability and integrity, but the exposure of sensitive information could facilitate subsequent attacks such as lateral movement or privilege escalation. Contact centers are critical infrastructure for many sectors including finance, healthcare, and government services in Europe, so exploitation could indirectly affect service continuity and customer trust. The broad range of affected versions means many organizations may be vulnerable if they have not applied recent updates or do not have strict access controls. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers often develop exploits after public disclosure.

1. Immediately review and restrict administrative access to the Cisco UCCX web UI, ensuring only trusted personnel have credentials. 2. Enforce strong authentication mechanisms, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), to reduce the risk of credential compromise. 3. Monitor access logs for unusual or unauthorized administrative activity that could indicate exploitation attempts. 4. Apply Cisco security advisories and patches promptly once available; maintain an active subscription to Cisco security notifications. 5. Implement network segmentation to isolate UCCX servers from general user networks and limit exposure to only necessary management hosts. 6. Conduct regular audits of file permissions and configurations on UCCX servers to detect unauthorized changes or access. 7. Use web application firewalls (WAFs) or intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) to detect and block suspicious path traversal attempts. 8. Educate administrators on the risks of credential sharing and enforce policies to minimize insider threats. 9. Prepare incident response plans specifically addressing potential data exposure from contact center systems. 10. Consider deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions on UCCX servers to identify anomalous file access patterns.