Vulnerability

CVE-2025-20281

Critical· 10.0KEVCVSS10EPSS33%

.rules3/5

Cisco Identity Services Engine Injection Vulnerability

Cisco Identity Services Engine contains an injection vulnerability in a specific API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input allowing an attacker to exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted API request. Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to perform remote code execution and obtaining root privileges on an affected device.

Threat signal

100/100

Severe

Severity

critical

CVSS

10.0

EPSS

33%

Active

KEV

CISA KEV — actively exploited

299d overdue

AffectedCisco — Identity Services Engine

Added to KEV

2025-07-28

Federal patch due (BOD 22-01)

2025-08-18

Required action (CISA verbatim)

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Vendor advisory + references

CISA description: “Cisco Identity Services Engine contains an injection vulnerability in a specific API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input allowing an attacker to exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted API request. Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to perform remote code execution and obtaining root privileges on an affected device.”

CVSS

v3.1Open in FIRST calculator →

10.0/ 10CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack VectorNetworkExploitable remotely over the internet — no local access needed.
Attack ComplexityLowNo special conditions — exploit works reliably.
Privileges RequiredNoneUnauthenticated — no credentials needed.
User InteractionNoneFully automated — no victim action needed.
ScopeChangedImpact extends beyond the vulnerable component (e.g. sandbox escape).
Confidentiality ImpactHighTotal disclosure of sensitive data.
Integrity ImpactHighTotal compromise of integrity — full data modification possible.
Availability ImpactHighTotal loss of availability — full DoS possible.

EPSS

Exploit prediction · 30-day horizonFIRST.org →

33.5%

probability of exploitation in next 30 days

p97

higher than 97% of all CVEs

3-day trend↑ 0pp

Above the FIRST 'patch on a priority schedule' threshold.

Vendor VEX

No VEX statements published for CVE-2025-20281. Vendors publish VEX (Vulnerability Exploitability eXchange) to assert per-product whether a CVE is actually exploitable in their distribution.

SSVCAct

Active exploitation with total impact on essential/support systems

exploitation: active
automatable: yes
impact: total
mission: support

Lifecycle

2025-07-28Added to CISA KEVransomware: Unknown
2025-07-28Published
2025-08-18Federal patch due (BOD 22-01)
2026-06-12Last modified1 source

No source-event history recorded yet. New revisions will appear here as ingestors re-fetch this CVE.