dbcve.org
Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2025-20213

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
57/100
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 CLI of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly Cisco SD-WAN vManage, could allow an authenticated, local attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the local file system of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid read-only credentials with CLI access on the affected system. This vulnerability is due to improper access controls on files that are on the local file system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by running a series of crafted commands on the local file system of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the affected device and gain privileges of the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to have CLI access as a low-privilege user.

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

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager's CLI where improper access controls on local file system files allow an authenticated attacker with read-only credentials to overwrite arbitrary files and gain root privileges by running crafted commands.

MitigationApply Cisco's official patch for CVE-2025-20213. Until patched, minimize CLI access to read-only users and monitor for suspicious file system operations.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Identify Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager version
    Access the CLI and run the command to display the software version (commonly 'show version' or check the admin web UI for the version information)
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the following: 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
  2. Confirm CLI access is enabled
    Verify that the CLI interface is accessible and functional on the affected device
    Affected if CLI interface is available and operational for authenticated users
  3. Identify read-only user accounts
    Review user accounts configured in the system and confirm the presence of accounts with read-only privileges
    Affected if One or more read-only user accounts exist in the system
  4. Check for unauthorized file modifications
    Audit the file system for any unexpected changes to system files, configuration files, or scripts that could indicate exploitation of file overwrite capabilities
    Affected if Arbitrary files have been modified or created by a read-only user account, or suspicious scripts/executables appear in locations writable only by privileged users

A system is affected if it runs a matched version of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, has CLI access enabled, and contains read-only user accounts that could potentially overwrite files to escalate privileges.

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 official patch for CVE-2025-20213. Until patched, minimize CLI access to read-only users and monitor for suspicious file system operations.

Fix this in Catalyst Sd Wan Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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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-2025-20213 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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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data