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🛡️ CVE-2025-20181 — ios

🟡 CVSS 6.8 — Medium ✅ No Known Exploit CWE-347 NVD
6.8
CVSS Score
0 Low4 Medium7 High9 Critical10

Description

A vulnerability in Cisco IOS Software for Cisco Catalyst 2960X, 2960XR, 2960CX, and 3560CX Series Switches could allow an authenticated, local attacker with privilege level 15 or an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the device to execute persistent code at boot time and break the chain of trust.

This vulnerability is due to missing signature verification for specific files that may be loaded during the device boot process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by placing a crafted file into a specific location on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code at boot time.

Because this allows the attacker to bypass a major security feature of the device, Cisco has raised the Security Impact Rating (SIR) of this advisory from Medium to High.

How this vulnerability can be exploited

This issue can be reached with physical access to the device, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs no privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high.

CVSS metrics in full

The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

  • Attack vector: Physical — the attacker has to touch the device.
  • Attack complexity: Low — the attack works reliably, with no preparation.
  • Privileges required: None — an unauthenticated stranger can try it.
  • User interaction: None — nobody has to be tricked into anything.
  • Scope: Unchanged — the damage stays inside the vulnerable component.
  • Confidentiality impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
  • Integrity impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
  • Availability impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.

Weakness class

CVE-2025-20181 is classified as CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature. A signature is not checked correctly, so forged or modified content is accepted as genuine.

Affected software

CVE-2025-20181 is recorded against 1 package.

  • ios

Timeline and source

Published on 7 May 2025 and last revised on 17 June 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. Record sourced from NVD.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com

Other advisories for this package

ios has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:

Same weakness in other software

These advisories are the same class of weakness (CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature) in other software:

Details

Severity MEDIUM
CVSS Score 6.8
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE CWE-347
Public Exploit ✅ No
Source NVD
Published 2025-05-07
Updated 2026-08-20
Modified 2026-06-17
Fix URL N/A

Affected Packages

Software From version Fixed in
ios — —

Similar Threats

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ⓘ Data Notice: The information presented above has been compiled from publicly available internet sources. Boteraser aggregates this data solely for informational purposes and does not independently classify, evaluate, or endorse any findings about the vulnerabilities listed. The accuracy and completeness of this information is the sole responsibility of the original publishers. Boteraser and its operators accept no liability for any decisions made based on this data.

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