CVE-2025-20282Cisco ISE API Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- 10.0CriticalCVSS base score
- 38.7%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 1.4% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- 1Public exploitsMetasploit, Nuclei and Exploit-DB
Description
A vulnerability in an internal API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to upload arbitrary files to an affected device and then execute those files on the underlying operating system as root. This vulnerability is due a lack of file validation checks that would prevent uploaded files from being placed in privileged directories on an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted file to the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to store malicious files on the affected system and then execute arbitrary code or obtain root privileges on the system.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. The public collections list a Nuclei template for it.
Show the exploits1
Nuclei templates1 template
- Cisco ISE < 3.4P2 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload (Nuclei template) (opens in a new tab)
http/cves/2025/CVE-2025-20282.yamlSeverity critical
Modules, templates and exploits as listed by the Metasploit Framework (BSD-3-Clause), ProjectDiscovery's Nuclei templates (MIT) and the Exploit Database (GPLv2), read once a day. Where the data comes from
Timeline
ID reserved
By cisco
- 9 months later
· 9 months later
Published
- 8 months later
· 8 months later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| ciscoCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Critical10.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 3.1 | Critical10.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 38.7% · top 1.4% of all CVEs (14 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: total
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Critical 10.0.
Affected products
Cisco · Cisco Identity Services Engine Software
- affected 3.4.0
- affected 3.4 Patch 1
What to do
Exploitation: The Cisco PSIRT is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of this vulnerability.
References
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2025-19166 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2025-20282)Record last updated .