CVE-2025-20281
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.
do firstApply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Can a WAF block it? Partly. Cloudflare publishes WAF a rule written for this CVE. Such rules block the known exploit requests and buy time, but attackers can change the request to get past them, so they do not replace the patch.
Cloudflare · 1 rule (Block) · since 11 Aug 2025
- Cisco Identity Services Engine - Remote Code Execution - CVE:CVE-2025-20281 · Cloudflare Managed Ruleset
Also consider: patch · enable the vendor rule in block mode
Based on WAF vendor rules published for this CVE. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Is CVE-2025-20281 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2025-20281 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2025-20281?
CVE-2025-20281 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 10.0. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2025-20281?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2025-20281. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2025-20281 affect?
CVE-2025-20281 affects cisco:identity_services_engine, cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
- affected3.3.0
- affected3.3 Patch 2
- affected3.3 Patch 1
- affected3.3 Patch 3
- affected3.4.0
- affected3.3 Patch 4
- affected3.4 Patch 1
- affected3.3 Patch 5
- affected3.3 Patch 6
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
public exploits
Unvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub: 3 GitHub proofs of concept · 1 Nuclei template
- Cisco ISE - Remote Code Execution · detection template · critical
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
cisa ssvc
- exploitation
- active
- automatable
- yes
- technical impact
- total
Assessed by CISA 26 Jul 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3).
timeline
- 25 Jun 2025Published
- 27 Jun 2025First proof-of-concept repository on GitHub (unvetted) · 1 day later
- 26 Jul 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active · 29 days later
- 28 Jul 2025Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild) · 2 days later
- 18 Aug 2025CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies) · 21 days later
- 26 Feb 2026CVE record last updated · 193 days (about 6 months) later
- 2 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com · 249 days (about 8 months) later
- Exploitzerodayinitiative.com /blog/2025/7/24/cve-2025-20281-cisco-ise-api-unauthenticated-remote-code-executi
- Linksec.cloudapps.cisco.com /security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-unauth-rce-ZAd2GnJ6
- Linkcisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-20281
sources
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Nuclei templates: detection templates
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
- Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.