Nexus DashboardApplication · Cisco
CVE-2025-20163
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the SSH implementation of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to impersonate Cisco NDFC-managed devices. This vulnerability is due to insufficient SSH host key validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by performing a machine-in-the-middle attack on SSH connections to Cisco NDFC-managed devices, which could allow an attacker to intercept this traffic. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to impersonate a managed device and capture user credentials.
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 confidenceThe SSH implementation in Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller lacks proper host key validation, allowing an attacker positioned between NDFC and managed devices to intercept SSH traffic via machine-in-the-middle attack, impersonate the managed devices, and capture user credentials.
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
Nexus DashboardApplication
< 3.2\(2f\)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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Nexus Dashboard versionAccess the Nexus Dashboard admin interface or use the 'show version' command via CLI to determine the current software versionAffected if The version is lower than 3.2(2f)
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Confirm Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is in useVerify that NDFC is deployed and actively managing network devices by checking the NDFC web UI or running 'feature ndfc' in the NX-OS CLIAffected if NDFC is managing devices and the software version is below 3.2(2f)
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Check if SSH management is enabledIn the NDFC interface, navigate to Device Management settings or use 'show ssh server' to verify SSH is configured for device managementAffected if SSH is enabled for managing fabric devices and the version is vulnerable
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Review SSH host key verification settingsExamine the SSH client configuration on NDFC for strict host key checking options. Check if 'StrictHostKeyChecking' is set to 'yes' or 'ask' in /etc/ssh/ssh_config or the equivalent NDFC SSH configurationAffected if Strict host key validation is disabled or set to 'no'
The environment is affected if Cisco Nexus Dashboard with NDFC is running a version below 3.2(2f), SSH is used for device management, and strict host key validation is not enforced.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped3.2
Apply the Cisco patch when available; in the interim, avoid managing devices over untrusted networks and monitor for unusual SSH connection patterns.
Cisco Nexus Dashboard 3.2(2f) or later
- Back up current Nexus Dashboard configuration and data
- Download Cisco Nexus Dashboard version 3.2(2f) or later from Cisco
- Follow Cisco's standard upgrade procedure for Nexus Dashboard
- After upgrade, verify SSH host key validation is functioning properly
- Confirm managed devices can be reached and SSH connections are secure
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Nexus Dashboard
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20163 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-20163 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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