dbcve.org
Memory LeakWeakness · CWE-401

CVE-2025-20225

MEDIUM · 5.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) feature of Cisco IOS Software, IOS XE Software, Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software, and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to trigger a memory leak, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to a lack of proper processing of IKEv2 packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IKEv2 packets to an affected device. In the case of Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software, a successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload unexpectedly. In the case of Cisco ASA and FTD Software, a successful exploit could allow the attacker to partially exhaust system memory, causing system instability such as being unable to establish new IKEv2 VPN sessions. A manual reboot of the device is required to recover from this condition.

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 memory leak vulnerability exists in the IKEv2 feature of Cisco IOS, IOS XE, ASA, and FTD software due to improper processing of crafted IKEv2 packets. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send specially constructed IKEv2 packets to trigger memory exhaustion, causing device reload on IOS/IOS XE or memory exhaustion preventing new IKEv2 VPN sessions on ASA/FTD.

MitigationApply Cisco security patches for CVE-2025-20225 when available; restrict IKEv2 exposure to trusted networks via ACLs or disable IKEv2 if not required; monitor device memory and establish alerting for abnormal consumption.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L

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 Cisco product and version
    Use 'show version' command (IOS/IOS XE) or check the ASA/FTD system inventory to confirm the product name and exact software version
    Affected if Running any Cisco IOS, IOS XE, ASA, or FTD software version without the fixed patch applied to CVE-2025-20225
  2. Verify IKEv2 is configured
    Check the running configuration for 'crypto ikev2' commands or use 'show crypto ikev2 sa' to see active IKEv2 security associations
    Affected if IKEv2 is enabled and the device is accepting IKEv2 connections
  3. Confirm IKEv2 is exposed to untrusted networks
    Review interface ACLs and VPN tunnel termination interfaces to determine if UDP port 500/4500 (IKEv2) is reachable from outside trusted networks
    Affected if IKEv2 ports are open to the internet or untrusted network segments
  4. Check for memory exhaustion symptoms
    Use 'show memory' (IOS/IOS XE/ASA) or 'show system resource' (FTD) to monitor available memory; review logs for unexpected device reloads or VPN session failures
    Affected if Device is experiencing abnormal memory consumption, frequent reloads, or inability to establish new IKEv2 VPN sessions

A user is affected if they run any vulnerable Cisco IOS, IOS XE, ASA, or FTD version with IKEv2 enabled and exposed to untrusted networks, and are experiencing memory issues or device reloads.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Cisco security patches for CVE-2025-20225 when available; restrict IKEv2 exposure to trusted networks via ACLs or disable IKEv2 if not required; monitor device memory and establish alerting for abnormal consumption.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Refer to Cisco advisory for product-specific fixed versions (IOS, IOS XE, ASA, or FTD)

  1. Locate the Cisco security advisory for CVE-2025-20225 on the Cisco Security Advisories portal (sec.cloudapps.cisco.com)
  2. Identify your specific device model and current software version using 'show version' command
  3. Consult the 'Fixed Releases' section of the advisory to determine the exact version required for your product line (IOS, IOS XE, ASA, or FTD)
  4. Download the appropriate fixed software release from Cisco's Software Download center
  5. Plan a maintenance window as the fix requires a software upgrade
  6. Before upgrading, back up your current configuration
  7. Upgrade the device to the fixed software release
  8. After upgrade, verify the device is functioning correctly and monitor memory usage
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for any configuration or behavioral changes between your current version and the fixed release

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20225 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-20225 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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