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iOSOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2025-20170

HIGH · 7.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
83/100
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 SNMP subsystem of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a DoS condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper error handling when parsing SNMP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted SNMP request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition.  This vulnerability affects SNMP versions 1, 2c, and 3. To exploit this vulnerability through SNMP v2c or earlier, the attacker must know a valid read-write or read-only SNMP community string for the affected system. To exploit this vulnerability through SNMP v3, the attacker must have valid SNMP user credentials for the 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

A vulnerability in the SNMP subsystem of Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software allows an authenticated attacker to cause a denial of service by sending a crafted SNMP request. The vulnerability stems from improper error handling during SNMP request parsing, which triggers an unexpected device reload when successfully exploited.

MitigationApply Cisco security updates when available. Restrict SNMP access to trusted management networks, use SNMPv3 with strong authentication, and ensure SNMP community strings are complex and changed regularly.

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
iOSOperating system
Affected:= 12.2\(1\)= 12.2\(1\)dx= 12.2\(1\)dx1= 12.2\(1\)m0= 12.2\(1\)mb1= 12.2\(1\)xd= 12.2\(1\)xd1= 12.2\(1\)xd2= 12.2\(1\)xd3= 12.2\(1\)xd4= 12.2\(1\)xe= 12.2\(1\)xe1
Ios XeOperating system
Affected:= 3.2.0se= 3.2.0sg= 3.2.1se= 3.2.1sg= 3.2.2se= 3.2.2sg= 3.2.3se= 3.2.3sg= 3.2.4sg= 3.2.5sg= 3.2.6sg= 3.2.7sg

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/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 device OS type and version
    Use the command 'show version' to determine if the device runs Cisco IOS or Cisco IOS XE and note the exact version number displayed (for example, look for strings like 12.2(1) or 3.2.xse/sg)
    Affected if The displayed version matches one of the affected versions listed in the CVE (12.2(1) variants or 3.2.xse/sg variants)
  2. Verify if SNMP is enabled
    Run the command 'show snmp' or 'show running-config | include snmp' to check whether the SNMP subsystem is actively configured on the device
    Affected if SNMP is enabled and the device shows SNMP configuration (community strings, users, or group definitions)
  3. Confirm SNMP configuration details
    Use 'show running-config | include snmp-server' to see the full SNMP configuration including community strings, SNMP version, and access controls
    Affected if SNMP community strings or SNMPv3 users are configured, which would allow an authenticated attacker to send crafted SNMP requests

The device is affected if it runs a matching affected version AND has SNMP enabled with active community strings or SNMPv3 users configured, as this allows the authenticated attacker to exploit the SNMP parsing flaw and trigger a device reload

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Cisco security updates when available. Restrict SNMP access to trusted management networks, use SNMPv3 with strong authentication, and ensure SNMP community strings are complex and changed regularly.

Fix this in iOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2025-20170 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