CVE-2025-20264 | Cisco Identity Services Engine Authorization Bypass Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to bypass the authorization mechanisms for specific administrative functions. This vulnerability is due to insufficient authorization enforcement mechanisms for users created by SAML SSO integration with an external identity provider. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a series of specific commands to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to modify a limited number of system settings, including some that would result in a system restart. In single-node Cisco ISE deployments, devices that are not authenticated to the network will not be able to authenticate until the Cisco ISE system comes back online. 

Published: 2025-06-25 Last update: 2025-07-08 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-20264 is rated Moderate Risk (44.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.29%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-20264

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-21 0.06% 0.29% +0.23%
2 2025-12-03 0.05% 0.06% +0.01%
3 2025-11-22 0.05%

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-20264

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:L 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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
3.1 2.7 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-20264

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-20264

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco identity_services_engine 3.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.0.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.0.0:patch1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.0.0:patch2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.0.0:patch3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.0.0:patch4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.0.0:patch5:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.0.0:patch6:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.0.0:patch7:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.0.0:patch8:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:patch1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:patch10:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:patch2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:patch3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:patch4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:patch5:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:patch6:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:patch7:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:patch8:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.1.0:patch9:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.2.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.2.0:patch1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.2.0:patch2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.2.0:patch3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.2.0:patch4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.2.0:patch5:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.2.0:patch6:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.2.0:patch7:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.3.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.3.0:patch1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.3.0:patch2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.3.0:patch3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.3.0:patch4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.4.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco identity_services_engine 3.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.4.0:patch1:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-20264

cvelogic Threat Intelligence