Identity Services Engine
CVE-2025-20281: Cisco ISE API Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
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.
Published
Automatic summary from the vendor's CVE record. We haven't written a full analysis of this vulnerability yet.
Affected and fixed versions
| Product / branch | Fixed in |
|---|---|
| Cisco Identity Services Engine Software 3.3 | See the advisory |
| Cisco Identity Services Engine Software 3.3 Patch 2 | See the advisory |
| Cisco Identity Services Engine Software 3.3 Patch 1 | See the advisory |
| Cisco Identity Services Engine Software 3.3 Patch 3 | See the advisory |
| Cisco Identity Services Engine Software 3.4 | See the advisory |
| Cisco Identity Services Engine Software 3.3 Patch 4 | See the advisory |
| Cisco Identity Services Engine Software 3.4 Patch 1 | See the advisory |
| Cisco Identity Services Engine Software 3.3 Patch 5 | See the advisory |
| Cisco Identity Services Engine Software 3.3 Patch 6 | See the advisory |
Always confirm against the vendor advisory, which lists every fixed hotfix.
What it is
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.
Exploitation
In July 2025, the Cisco PSIRT became aware of attempted exploitation of this vulnerability in the wild. Cisco continues to strongly recommend that customers upgrade to a fixed software release to remediate these vulnerabilities.
CISA lists this CVE as exploited in the wild since 28 Jul 2025.
Sources
KEV status, EPSS score and vendor data refreshed automatically, last on 11 Oct 2026.