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Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco

CVE-2025-20130

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.1.0 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A vulnerability in the API of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with administrative privileges to upload files to an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of the file copy function. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted file upload request to a specific API endpoint. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to upload arbitrary files to an affected system.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This is an improper input validation vulnerability in the file copy function of Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC APIs. An authenticated attacker with administrative privileges can send a crafted request to a specific API endpoint to upload arbitrary files to the affected device, potentially leading to remote code execution or system compromise.

MitigationApply the vendor patch when available; restrict administrative API access to trusted IPs, monitor for anomalous file upload activity, and ensure least-privilege principles for admin accounts.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Identity Services EngineApplication
Affected:< 3.1.0= 3.1.0= 3.2.0= 3.3.0
Identity Services Engine Passive Identity ConnectorApplication
Affected:< 3.1.0= 3.1.0= 3.2.0= 3.3.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed Cisco ISE or ISE-PIC version
    Access the Cisco ISE administration portal and navigate to the Administration > System > Settings > Product Versions page, or use the CLI command 'show version' to retrieve the running software version
    Affected if The displayed version matches < 3.1.0, = 3.1.0, = 3.2.0, or = 3.3.0
  2. Confirm the product type is affected
    Verify whether the installed system is Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) or Cisco Identity Services Engine Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) using the product information in the administration dashboard or 'show version' output
    Affected if The product is Cisco ISE or ISE-PIC and the version falls within the vulnerable ranges listed above
  3. Determine if administrative API access is enabled
    Review the Cisco ISE API settings under Administration > System > Settings > API Settings to confirm whether the internal RESTful API endpoint used for file operations is accessible
    Affected if The API service is enabled and accessible to users with administrative privileges
  4. Audit administrative user accounts
    Check the list of administrative users in Cisco ISE under Administration > Identity Management > Identities > Users to identify accounts with administrative-level privileges
    Affected if There are active administrative accounts that could be used to authenticate to the vulnerable API endpoint
  5. Review API access logs for file copy operations
    Examine Cisco ISE logging and audit trails under Operations > Reports > API Diagnostics for suspicious or anomalous requests to the file copy API endpoint
    Affected if There are logs of file upload or file copy API requests that were initiated by administrative users, especially to unexpected destinations

You are affected if your Cisco ISE or ISE-PIC version is 3.1.0, 3.2.0, 3.3.0, or any version prior to 3.1.0, and the administrative API endpoint is accessible.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.1.0 or later
Fixed in 3.1.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch when available; restrict administrative API access to trusted IPs, monitor for anomalous file upload activity, and ensure least-privilege principles for admin accounts.

Recommended fix High confidence

ISE/ISE-PIC version 3.3(1) or later

  1. 1. Identify the current Cisco ISE or ISE-PIC version by navigating to Administration > System > Licensing in the ISE admin GUI
  2. 2. Back up the ISE configuration using the admin backup functionality to ensure data preservation
  3. 3. Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades require downtime
  4. 4. Download the fixed version (3.3(1) or later) from the Cisco Software Download center after logging in with valid Cisco credentials
  5. 5. For Cisco ISE: Navigate to Administration > System > Backup & Restore > Software Upgrade and upload the upgrade package
  6. 6. For ISE-PIC: Follow the standalone upgrade procedure documented in the ISE-PIC installation guide
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking the version under Administration > System > Licensing
  8. 8. Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by reviewing the system health and checking for any unexpected file uploads
Caveat Major upgrades may require configuration migration; ensure compatibility with existing network integration and review upgrade path from your current version (some versions may require intermediate upgrades)

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Identity Services Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,580
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,128.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-20130 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data