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Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco

CVE-2025-20282

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 an internal API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to upload arbitrary files to an affected device and then execute those files on the underlying operating system as root. This vulnerability is due a lack of file validation checks that would prevent uploaded files from being placed in privileged directories on an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted file to the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to store malicious files on the affected system and then execute arbitrary code or obtain root privileges on the 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

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit a lack of file validation in an internal API of Cisco ISE/ISE-PIC to upload arbitrary files to privileged directories on the affected system. The vulnerability allows these files to be executed as root, enabling complete system compromise including arbitrary code execution and root privilege escalation.

MitigationApply Cisco's official patch for CVE-2025-20282 immediately to all affected Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC deployments. Restrict network access to internal API interfaces until the patch is applied.

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
Identity Services EngineApplication
Affected:= 3.4.0
Identity Services Engine Passive Identity ConnectorApplication
Affected:= 3.4.0

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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. Check Cisco ISE version via CLI
    Access the Cisco ISE command-line interface and run the command: show version | include Version
    Affected if The displayed version is exactly 3.4.0 (such as 3.4.0.0, 3.4.0.1, etc.)
  2. Check Cisco ISE version via web UI
    Log into the Cisco ISE web administration portal, navigate to Administration > System > Deployment, and examine the version listed for each node
    Affected if Any node shows version 3.4.0 as the installed release
  3. Check Cisco ISE-PIC version via CLI
    If using the Passive Identity Connector, access its CLI and run: show version | include Version
    Affected if The version displayed is exactly 3.4.0
  4. Verify deployment nodes for ISE-PIC
    In the Cisco ISE web UI, go to Administration > System > Deployment and identify any nodes running the ISE-PIC persona; check their version column
    Affected if An ISE-PIC node shows version 3.4.0

Your environment is affected if any Cisco ISE or ISE-PIC node is running version 3.4.0, as this specific version contains the vulnerable internal API with insufficient file validation.

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's official patch for CVE-2025-20282 immediately to all affected Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC deployments. Restrict network access to internal API interfaces until the patch is applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cisco ISE 3.4.1 or later releases

  1. 1. Log into the Cisco ISE administration console
  2. 2. Navigate to Administration > System > Settings > Server Certificate to backup current configuration
  3. 3. Download and review the Cisco ISE release notes for version 3.4.1 or later for this specific vulnerability fix
  4. 4. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade may require service interruption
  5. 5. Before upgrading in production, test the upgrade in a staging environment to verify compatibility with existing integrations
  6. 6. Perform a full backup of the Cisco ISE configuration including PAN and PSN nodes
  7. 7. Follow Cisco's standard upgrade procedure for ISE 3.4.x to the fixed release (3.4.1 or later)
  8. 8. After upgrade, verify that the internal API no longer accepts unauthenticated file uploads
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes between 3.4.0 and the target fixed release; some integrations may require reconfiguration

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

Fix this in Identity Services Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2025-20282 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