Crosswork Network ControllerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2025-20168
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 web-based management interface of Cisco Common Services Platform Collector (CSPC) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks against a user of the interface. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input by the web-based management interface of an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting malicious code into specific pages of the interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary script code in the context of the affected interface or access sensitive, browser-based information. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have at least a low-privileged account on an affected device. Cisco has not released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
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 · moderate confidenceA stored XSS vulnerability exists in the web-based management interface of Cisco CSPC due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An authenticated attacker with low-privileged access can inject malicious script code into specific interface pages, potentially executing in the context of other users' sessions or accessing sensitive browser-based information.
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
Crosswork Network ControllerApplication
>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.4>= 6.0.0, < 6.0.3>= 7.0.0, < 7.0.1
Common Services Platform CollectorApplication
= 2.11= 2.11.0.1= 2.11.0.2= 2.11.0.3= 30.1.1-0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 product and versionAccess the CLI or admin console of the device and run the command to display the software version (for example, 'show version' or check the About/Status page in the web UI). Compare the version number against the affected ranges: Crosswork Network Controller 5.0.0-5.0.3, 6.0.0-6.0.2, 7.0.0; or CSPC versions 2.11, 2.11.0.1, 2.11.0.2, 2.11.0.3, 30.1.1-0.Affected if The installed version falls within any of the listed version ranges.
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Confirm web-based management interface is enabledCheck if the web UI is accessible by attempting to reach the management interface URL (typically HTTPS on port 443 or a custom port). Verify the service is running via CLI commands such as 'show services' or by reviewing the device status.Affected if The web-based management interface is exposed and accessible.
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Verify presence of user accountsList all user accounts configured on the device through the web UI user management page or via CLI commands like 'show users' or 'show running-config | include user'.Affected if There are one or more user accounts configured, especially low-privileged accounts.
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Review web interface logs for XSS indicatorsExamine system logs, web access logs, or security logs for patterns that may indicate XSS attempts, such as script tags, javascript: URLs, or HTML tags in input fields. Look in the device logs or external log aggregation if configured.Affected if Logs contain entries with suspicious script-related characters in user input fields.
You are affected if your installed version of Cisco Crosswork Network Controller or CSPC matches the affected versions AND the web-based management interface is accessible with user accounts configured.
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 · scoped5.0.46.0.37.0.1
No vendor patches or workarounds are available. Implement compensating controls such as network segmentation to restrict access to the management interface, application-level input sanitization at upstream proxies, and monitor for indicators of XSS exploitation.
- No remediation steps are available. Cisco has explicitly stated that no software updates have been released to address this vulnerability.
- No workarounds are available according to the official Cisco security advisory.
- Monitor Cisco security advisories (sec.cloudapps.cisco.com) for future updates to CVE-2025-20168.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Crosswork Network Controller
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20168 — 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-2025-20168 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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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.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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