CRITICAL CISA KEV

CVE-2025-20281

CVSS v3

10

CRITICAL

EPSS Score

36.0%

exploit probability

CISA KEV

Yes

known exploited

Exploitation

SSVC status

Description

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

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
7/28/2025
Patch Due Date
8/18/2025
Ransomware Use
Unknown

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
3.1
Published
6/25/2025
Last Modified
10/28/2025

Frequently asked questions

What is 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

Is CVE-2025-20281 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2025-20281 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 8/18/2025.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-20281?

CVE-2025-20281 has a CVSS v3 base score of 10 (CRITICAL severity), with vector string 3.1.

Is CVE-2025-20281 affecting your environment?

Use isMalicious to check if any of your IPs or domains are associated with this vulnerability's IOCs.