dbcve.org
AsyncosOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2025-20185

MEDIUM · 6.7 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 →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 implementation of the remote access functionality of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, Cisco Secure Email Gateway, and Cisco Secure Web Appliance could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges to root. The attacker must authenticate with valid administrator credentials. This vulnerability is due to an architectural flaw in the password generation algorithm for the remote access functionality. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by generating a temporary password for the service account. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root and access the underlying operating system. Note: The Security Impact Rating (SIR) for this vulnerability is Medium due to the unrestricted scope of information that is accessible to an attacker.

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 confidence

This is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco AsyncOS software affecting Secure Email Gateway, Secure Web Appliance, and Secure Email and Web Manager. An authenticated attacker with valid administrator credentials can exploit an architectural flaw in the password generation algorithm for remote access functionality to generate a temporary password for a service account, enabling arbitrary command execution as root on the underlying operating system.

MitigationApply vendor-provided patches from Cisco for affected AsyncOS versions. Restrict administrator account access and monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts. Until patched, limit administrative access to trusted personnel only.

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
AsyncosOperating system
Affected:= 13.0.0-392= 13.0.5-007= 13.5.1-277= 13.5.4-038= 14.0.0-698= 14.2.0-620= 14.2.1-020= 14.3.0-032= 15.0.0-104= 15.0.1-030= 15.0.3-002= 15.5.0-048

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 installed AsyncOS version
    Access the appliance CLI and run the 'version' command, or check the web interface System Administration > System Setup > Software version section
    Affected if The displayed version matches any of these build numbers: 13.0.0-392, 13.0.5-007, 13.5.1-277, 13.5.4-038, 14.0.0-698, 14.2.0-620, 14.2.1-020, 14.3.0-032, 15.0.0-104, 15.0.1-030, 15.0.3-002, 15.5.0-048
  2. Verify product type is affected
    Confirm the device is one of: Cisco Secure Email Gateway, Secure Web Appliance, or Secure Email and Web Manager. Check via 'show product' CLI command or web interface Device Information
    Affected if The product is any of these three appliances running the affected AsyncOS versions
  3. Check if remote access feature is enabled
    Review configuration for remote access services such as SSH, VPN, or remote management interfaces. Use 'show interface' or check the remote access policy settings in the web interface under Network > Remote Access
    Affected if Remote access functionality is enabled on the appliance (the vulnerability exploits the password generation algorithm for this feature)

If the installed AsyncOS version matches one of the specific build numbers listed and remote access is enabled, the environment is vulnerable to privilege escalation via the password generation flaw.

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 vendor-provided patches from Cisco for affected AsyncOS versions. Restrict administrator account access and monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts. Until patched, limit administrative access to trusted personnel only.

Fix this in Asyncos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation10.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $5,060
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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-2025-20185 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
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