CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2025-20188 — Cisco Ios Xe security vulnerability

Critical CVSS 10

A vulnerability in the Out-of-Band Access Point (AP) Image Download, the Clean Air Spectral Recording, and the client debug bundles features of Cisco IOS XE Software for Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to upload arbitrary files to an affected system. This vulnerability is due to the presence of a hard-coded JSON Web Token (JWT) on an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTPS requests to the AP file upload interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to upload files, perform path traversal, and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
10 (3.1)
Published
2025-05-07
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-798

Affected products

  • cisco / ios_xe / 17.11.1
  • cisco / ios_xe / 17.11.99sw
  • cisco / ios_xe / 17.12.1
  • cisco / ios_xe / 17.12.2
  • cisco / ios_xe / 17.12.3
  • cisco / ios_xe / 17.13.1

Showing 6 representative product identities from 7 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Authentication bypass and missing authentication

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Check exposure

  • Map every affected endpoint and protocol path, including alternate ports, legacy routes, recovery flows, service accounts, and machine-to-machine access.
  • Confirm which deployments enable the affected authentication mode and whether the interface is reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Review session, token, credential, and proxy trust configuration without attempting account takeover.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the supported fix and centralize fail-closed authentication before protected request handling.
  • Remove default or embedded credentials, rotate affected secrets and sessions, and bind authentication decisions to the intended audience and channel.
  • Add negative tests for alternate routes, malformed or absent credentials, recovery flows, and proxy-derived identity.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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