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Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2025-20187

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 application data endpoints of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly Cisco SD-WAN vManage, could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to write arbitrary files to an affected system. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of requests to APIs. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious requests to an API within the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to conduct directory traversal attacks and write files to an arbitrary location on 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 · moderate confidence

A path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager's API allows authenticated attackers to write files to arbitrary system locations due to improper input validation on application data endpoints.

MitigationApply Cisco's available security patch for CVE-2025-20187; if no patch exists, restrict API access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious file write activity.

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
Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication
Affected:= 17.2.4= 17.2.5= 17.2.6= 17.2.7= 17.2.8= 17.2.9= 17.2.10= 18.2.0= 18.3.0= 18.3.1= 18.3.1.1= 18.3.3

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checks

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

  1. Confirm Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager is running
    Identify the software by checking running processes, services, or the web interface at the system's IP/hostname. Look for 'Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager' or 'vmanage' in process listings or service names.
    Affected if The system is running any Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager instance.
  2. Check the installed version number
    Access the SD-WAN Manager web UI, typically at https://<hostname>/, then navigate to Administration > Settings > Software Version, or use the CLI command 'show version' if you have terminal access. Alternatively, query the API endpoint /dataservice/system/device or check the about page.
    Affected if The installed version is one of: 17.2.4, 17.2.5, 17.2.6, 17.2.7, 17.2.8, 17.2.9, 17.2.10, 18.2.0, 18.3.0, 18.3.1, 18.3.1.1, or 18.3.3.
  3. Determine if the API is externally accessible
    Review firewall rules, load balancer configurations, or network access lists (ACLs) that control inbound access to the SD-WAN Manager API ports (default 443/tcp). Check whether the /dataservice/ API endpoint is reachable from untrusted networks.
    Affected if The API endpoint is exposed to untrusted or internet-facing networks without proper access controls.
  4. Review API access logs for anomalous file write requests
    Examine SD-WAN Manager logs under /var/log/ or via the web UI under Monitor > Logs. Search for API calls to application data endpoints that contain directory traversal patterns such as '../' or unusual file write operations.
    Affected if Logs show API requests to application data endpoints containing path traversal sequences or unexpected file write operations to system directories.
  5. Check for unauthorized files in system directories
    Use file system inspection commands (find, ls) to compare file modification times and locations against expected baselines. Focus on directories outside the normal application data paths, such as /etc/, /tmp/, or web root directories.
    Affected if Unexpected files appear in system directories outside the normal application data paths, or files have been modified at times coinciding with suspicious API activity.

You are affected if Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager is running a version between 17.2.4 and 18.3.3 and the API is accessible to untrusted users, or if logs or file system show evidence of path traversal-based file writes.

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's available security patch for CVE-2025-20187; if no patch exists, restrict API access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious file write activity.

Fix this in Catalyst Sd Wan Manager 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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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-20187 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