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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 18 Aug 2025.
Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco

CVE-2025-20337

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-16
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
In the wild High EPSS 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 a specific API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system as root. The attacker does not require any valid credentials to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted API request. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain root privileges on an 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 confidence

This is a command injection vulnerability in a specific API endpoint of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC where insufficient input validation allows an unauthenticated attacker to submit crafted API requests that execute arbitrary code with root privileges on the underlying operating system.

MitigationApply Cisco's available security patch for this vulnerability; if patches are unavailable, consider network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted networks and implement additional authentication controls at network perimeter devices.

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:= 3.3.0= 3.4.0
Identity Services Engine Passive Identity ConnectorApplication
Affected:= 3.3.0= 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
    Log into the Cisco ISE admin UI or use the CLI command 'show version' to determine the installed version. Alternatively, check via the API using 'GET https://<ise-host>/admin/API/mnt/version'.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 3.3.0 or exactly 3.4.0.
  2. Check Cisco ISE-PIC version
    Log into the Cisco ISE-PIC admin UI or use the CLI command 'show version' to determine the installed version of the Passive Identity Connector.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 3.3.0 or exactly 3.4.0.
  3. Identify exposed management interfaces
    Review network firewall rules and access lists to determine which management interfaces (HTTP/HTTPS admin ports, API ports) are exposed to untrusted networks. Use 'show run' on network devices or check cloud security groups if applicable.
    Affected if TCP ports 443 (HTTPS) or 80 (HTTP) for the ISE admin or API interfaces are accessible from untrusted/unmanaged networks.
  4. Check for unauthorized API access attempts
    Review Cisco ISE logs under Operations > Reports > RADIUS Live Logs and system logs for suspicious API requests, especially from unknown IP addresses. Look for abnormal API call patterns or authentication failures.
    Affected if There are API requests from unknown sources, especially failed authentication attempts preceding successful unauthorized access.
  5. Verify API service status
    In Cisco ISE, navigate to Administration > System > Settings > API Settings and review which API services are enabled. Check if the internal REST API service is running.
    Affected if The internal REST API service is enabled and accessible without authentication from network perspective.

You are affected if Cisco ISE or ISE-PIC is running version 3.3.0 or 3.4.0 AND the management/API interfaces are accessible from untrusted networks.

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 this vulnerability; if patches are unavailable, consider network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted networks and implement additional authentication controls at network perimeter devices.

Fix this in Identity Services Engine Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2025-20337 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