Vulnerability Intelligence Report
Cisco ISE API Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
CVE-2025-20281
A vulnerability in a specific API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system as root. The attacker does not require any valid credentials to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted API request. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain root privileges on an affected device.
CISA KEV
Nuclei Template
SSVC: Active Exploitation
Automatable
CVSS Base Score
10.0
CRITICAL
Exploitability:3.9
Impact Score:6.1
EPSS Probability:96.73%
Executive Threat Verdict
Evaluating...
Evaluating Threat Landscape...
Assessing known weaponization, exploitation telemetry, and federal advisories.
Attack Surface
—
Authentication
—
Weaponization
—
SSVC Action
—
Weaknesses (CWE)
CWE-74 ↗Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')
Affected Products & Versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco | Cisco Identity Services Engine Software | 3.3.0 (affected), 3.3 Patch 2 (affected), 3.3 Patch 1 (affected), 3.3 Patch 3 (affected), 3.4.0 (affected), 3.3 Patch 4 (affected), 3.4 Patch 1 (affected), 3.3 Patch 5 (affected), 3.3 Patch 6 (affected) |
References & Technical Advisories
No reference links found.
Threat Intelligence Signals
CISA KEV
ACTIVE IN CATALOG
Nuclei Template
SCANNER AVAILABLE
EPSS Score
96.732%
GitHub Advisory
Identity & Timeline
| Status | PUBLISHED |
| Assigning Authority | Cisco Systems, Inc. · Hosted Service · USA |
| Reserved | 2024-10-10T19:15:13 |
| Published | 2025-06-25T16:11:42 |
| Last Updated | 2026-02-26T17:50:24 |
Community Chatter & Buzz