CVE-2025-20281
Cisco Identity Services Engine Injection Vulnerability
This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: attackers are using it. If you run Identity Services Engine, fix it now.
CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
US federal civilian agencies must remediate by Aug 18, 2025.
Patch status
No official fix confirmed yet
Until a fix ships, follow the vendor's mitigations and CISA's required action, limit exposure of affected systems, and watch this record for a patch.
Description
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.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database. Official vulnerability data, reproduced as published.
Affected products
| Product | Vendor | Affected versions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity Services Engine | Cisco | 3.3.0; 3.4.0 | KEV |
Sources: KEV = CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Intelligence timeline
Developments from the last 30 days, newest first.
- CVSS scoredUpdateKEV
CVE-2025-20281 scored CVSS 10.0: Cisco Identity Services Engine, Cisco Identity Services Engine Injection Vulnerability
CISA lists this as exploited in the wild. Unpatched Identity Services Engine systems are exposed to active attacks now.
Basis: NIST National Vulnerability Database
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Coverage
We have not published a story about this vulnerability yet.