{"id":"CVE-2025-20281","published":"2025-06-25T16:15:26Z","modified":"2026-06-17T08:41:19Z","title":"Cisco Identity Services Engine Injection Vulnerability","vendor":"Cisco","product":"Identity Services Engine","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"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.\r\n\r\nThis 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.","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"A flaw caused by insufficient validation of user-supplied input in a specific API of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE-PIC allows remote code execution. An unauthenticated remote attacker, requiring no valid credentials, user interaction or specific configuration, can submit a crafted API request to execute arbitrary code as root on the underlying operating system.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-30T13:35:51Z"},"cvss":{"score":10.0,"severity":"CRITICAL","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.97601,"percentile":0.99902,"date":"2026-10-29","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2025-07-28","dueDate":"2025-08-18","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","notes":"https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-unauth-rce-ZAd2GnJ6 ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20281","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2025-07-13","exploitedFirstSeen":"2025-07-13","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2025-07-13&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2025-20281","date":"2025-07-13"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2025-07-14&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2025-20281","date":"2025-07-14"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2025-07-15&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2025-20281","date":"2025-07-15"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2025-07-16&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2025-20281","date":"2025-07-16"},{"url":"https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-unauth-rce-ZAd2GnJ6","date":"2025-07-21"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2025-07-22&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2025-20281","date":"2025-07-22"},{"url":"https://cyberscoop.com/cisco-identity-services-engines-active-exploits/","date":"2025-07-23"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2025-07-28&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2025-20281","date":"2025-07-28"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2025-07-28"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2025-07-29&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2025-20281","date":"2025-07-29"}],"evidenceTotal":38,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 30, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae35d889ea92b4ce19c2680","created":"2026-10-29"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-74","name":"Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component"}],"references":[{"url":"https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-unauth-rce-ZAd2GnJ6","tags":["Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-20281","tags":["US Government Resource"]},{"url":"https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/blog/2025/7/24/cve-2025-20281-cisco-ise-api-unauthenticated-remote-code-execution-vulnerability","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1106","name":"Native API","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Command Injection","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[],"comment":"This vulnerability, present in the API in Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC, allows for an attacker to use maliciously crafted API requests to a vulnerable device. If exploited, the attacker can gain the ability to execute arbitrary code at the root level.","confidence":"high"},{"id":"T1059","name":"Command and Scripting Interpreter","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Command Injection","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[],"comment":"This vulnerability, present in the API in Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC, allows for an attacker to use maliciously crafted API requests to a vulnerable device. If exploited, the attacker can gain the ability to execute arbitrary code at the root level.","confidence":"high"}],"reports":[],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2025-19167","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2025-19167","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2025-07-28","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":{"pocGithub":{"count":3,"skipped":0,"earliest":"2025-06-27","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/abrewer251/CVE-2025-20281-2-Cisco-ISE-RCE","repos":[{"name":"abrewer251/CVE-2025-20281-2-Cisco-ISE-RCE","url":"https://github.com/abrewer251/CVE-2025-20281-2-Cisco-ISE-RCE","stars":21,"created":"2025-06-27"},{"name":"grupooruss/CVE-2025-20281-Cisco","url":"https://github.com/grupooruss/CVE-2025-20281-Cisco","stars":8,"created":"2025-07-03"},{"name":"ill-deed/Cisco-CVE-2025-20281-illdeed","url":"https://github.com/ill-deed/Cisco-CVE-2025-20281-illdeed","stars":5,"created":"2025-07-04"}]},"nuclei":[{"id":"CVE-2025-20281","name":"Cisco ISE - Remote Code Execution","severity":"critical","path":"http/cves/2025/CVE-2025-20281.yaml","url":"https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2025/CVE-2025-20281.yaml"}],"first":{"date":"2025-06-27","source":"PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/abrewer251/CVE-2025-20281-2-Cisco-ISE-RCE"},"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":["https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/blog/2025/7/24/cve-2025-20281-cisco-ise-api-unauthenticated-remote-code-execution-vulnerability"],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1106"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1059"],"provenance":"source"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2025-06-25","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20281","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2025-06-27","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/abrewer251/CVE-2025-20281-2-Cisco-ISE-RCE","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2025-07-13","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2025-07-13&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2025-20281","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2025-07-28","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2025-07-28","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2025-19167","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":2,"firstExploitFrom":"PoC-in-GitHub","daysToKev":33},"priority":{"score":70.0,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 474 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.98,"detail":"percentile 0.9990"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"1 NVD reference tagged Exploit; 3 PoC-in-GitHub repos; 1 nuclei template"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":7.0,"detail":"base score 10.0"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}