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Cisco has released critical patches to address two significant vulnerabilities—CVE-2025-20281 and CVE-2025-20282—affecting its Identity Services Engine (ISE) and ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) products. These flaws could allow remote, unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code with root privileges, posing a substantial security risk for organizations using these systems.
the Vulnerabilities
The vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2025-20281 and CVE-2025-20282, both received the maximum CVSS score of 10, highlighting their severity. The first, CVE-2025-20281, affects Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC versions 3.3 and later. It allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code with root privileges through a vulnerable API, stemming from insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this by sending a crafted API request to the system.
The second flaw, CVE-2025-20282, impacts only Cisco ISE/ISE-PIC version 3.4. It enables attackers to upload and execute files as root by exploiting an internal API. This flaw is caused by a lack of file validation, allowing malicious files to be uploaded to privileged directories on the affected device. Once the files are placed, an attacker can execute arbitrary code with root privileges.
Cisco has emphasized that there are no known workarounds for these vulnerabilities, and organizations are encouraged to update their systems as soon as possible. The company also noted that its Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) has not observed any attacks exploiting these vulnerabilities in the wild.
What Undercode Says:
These vulnerabilities are critical because they allow unauthorized access to highly privileged areas of Cisco’s ISE and ISE-PIC systems. In today’s landscape, where cyberattacks are increasingly sophisticated, the possibility of remote attackers gaining root privileges through these flaws is concerning. Root access enables attackers to execute arbitrary code, manipulate data, or even take full control of an organization’s network infrastructure.
The fact that these flaws impact API and file validation mechanisms makes them particularly alarming. APIs are integral to communication between systems, and vulnerabilities in these interfaces can often be exploited remotely without the need for physical access. In this case, the attack vector allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass security measures and gain full control of the affected systems.
Furthermore, the lack of workarounds for these vulnerabilities means the only solution is to update to the fixed software releases as soon as possible. This could pose a challenge for organizations operating large-scale ISE deployments that may have limited windows for patching and testing. However, given the severity of these issues, patching should be prioritized to prevent potential exploitation.
The fact that these vulnerabilities have not yet been actively exploited in the wild provides some respite, but it is unlikely to stay that way for long. Cybercriminals are constantly scanning for unpatched vulnerabilities, and it’s only a matter of time before these flaws are weaponized.
Fact Checker Results:
✅ Cisco has confirmed that no active exploitation of these vulnerabilities has been observed.
✅ The vulnerabilities were identified in ISE and ISE-PIC versions 3.3 and 3.4 only.
✅ Cisco has issued fixed release versions for affected systems to address both vulnerabilities.
Prediction:
Given the critical nature of these vulnerabilities, it’s likely that attackers will soon begin to exploit them, especially considering their ease of exploitation and the widespread use of Cisco’s ISE products. Organizations that delay patching may find themselves vulnerable to cyberattacks. In the coming weeks, we can expect an increase in attempts to exploit these flaws, especially as cybersecurity threat actors often prioritize high-profile vulnerabilities like this.
References:
Reported By: securityaffairs.com
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