CVE-2025-20256 [Medium] | Input Validation Bypass in Secure Network Analytics

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Secure Network Analytics Manager and Cisco Secure Network Analytics Virtual Manager could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with valid administrative credentials to execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation in specific fields of the web-based management interface. An attacker with valid administrative credentials could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted input to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges. 

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-03-17	0.05%	0.24%	+0.19%
2	2026-01-24	0.05%	0.05%	+0.00%
3	2025-12-25	—	0.05%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-03-17

0.05%

0.24%

+0.19%

2026-01-24

0.05%

+0.00%

2025-12-25

—

0.05%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
6.5	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:N) Service keeps running; no real outage angle.	1.2	5.2	[email protected]
7.2	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.2	5.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

6.5

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H): They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N): Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

1.2

5.2

[email protected]

7.2

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H): They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.2

5.9

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-20256

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
cisco	secure_network_analytics	7.4.1	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_network_analytics:7.4.1:::::::*
cisco	secure_network_analytics	7.4.2	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_network_analytics:7.4.2:::::::*
cisco	secure_network_analytics	7.5.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_network_analytics:7.5.0:-::::::
cisco	secure_network_analytics	7.5.1	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_network_analytics:7.5.1:-::::::
cisco	secure_network_analytics	7.5.2	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_network_analytics:7.5.2:-::::::

References for CVE-2025-20256

URL	Tags
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sna-ssti-dPuLqSmZ	Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2025-20256 | Cisco Secure Network Analytics Manager Server-Side Template Injection Vulnerability

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-20256

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-20256

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-20256

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-20256

References for CVE-2025-20256