CVE-2025-20284 [Medium] | RCE in Identity Services Engine

A vulnerability in a specific API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system as root. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker with valid credentials could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted API request. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid high-privileged credentials.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-16	11.98%	12.68%	+0.70%
2	2026-06-15	0.76%	11.98%	+11.22%
3	2026-05-12	—	0.76%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-16

11.98%

12.68%

+0.70%

2026-06-15

0.76%

11.98%

+11.22%

2026-05-12

—

0.76%

—

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-2025-20284

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
cisco	identity_services_engine	< 3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine::::::::
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	3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.3.0:patch5::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine	3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine:3.3.0:patch6::::::
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::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector	< 3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector::::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector	3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector:3.3.0:-::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector	3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector:3.3.0:patch1::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector	3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector:3.3.0:patch2::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector	3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector:3.3.0:patch3::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector	3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector:3.3.0:patch4::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector	3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector:3.3.0:patch5::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector	3.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector:3.3.0:patch6::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector	3.4.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector:3.4.0:-::::::
cisco	identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector	3.4.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector:3.4.0:patch1::::::

References for CVE-2025-20284

URL	Tags
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-multi-3VpsXOxO	Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2025-20284 | Cisco Identity Services Engine Authenticated Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-20284

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-20284

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-20284

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-20284

References for CVE-2025-20284