Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco
CVE-2025-20303
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 · uneditedMultiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct a reflected XSS attack against a user of the interface. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input by the web-based management interface of an affected system. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by injecting malicious code into specific pages of the interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary script code in the context of the affected interface or access sensitive, browser-based information. To exploit these vulnerabilities, the attacker must have at least a low-privileged account on the affected device.
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 confidenceReflected XSS vulnerabilities in Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC web-based management interface due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An authenticated attacker with low-privileged access can inject malicious script code into specific pages, enabling execution in the context of the interface or exfiltration of sensitive browser-based information.
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
<= 3.1.0= 3.2.0= 3.3.0= 3.4.0CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Cisco ISE is deployedIdentify any systems running Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) or ISE-PIC in your environment. Check network scans, asset inventories, or consult infrastructure documentation for instances of Cisco ISE.Affected if Any Cisco ISE or ISE-PIC system exists in the environment
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Check Cisco ISE versionAccess the ISE admin CLI and run the command 'show version' or access the web interface and check the 'Administration > System > Settings > Product Version' page to identify the installed version.Affected if Version is <= 3.1.0, = 3.2.0, = 3.3.0, or = 3.4.0
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Verify web-based management interface is enabledConfirm the ISE web-based management interface is accessible. Check if TCP ports 443 (HTTPS) or 80 (HTTP) are open on ISE systems via 'show interface' or network port scans.Affected if The web management interface (HTTPS/HTTP) is accessible and enabled on the ISE appliance
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Review ISE admin access controlsCheck the number and privilege levels of configured ISE admin users via 'Administration > Identity Management > Identities > Users' in the web UI or via CLI 'show running-config | include user' to understand the attack surface.Affected if Low-privileged or untrusted user accounts exist with access to the web interface
A system is affected if it runs Cisco ISE version 3.1.0 or below, 3.2.0, 3.3.0, or 3.4.0 and has the web-based management interface accessible with at least one authenticated user account.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply Cisco's security updates for CVE-2025-20303. As interim measures, restrict web management interface access to trusted networks only and monitor for suspicious requests.
Fix this in Identity Services Engine
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20303 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-20303 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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