CVE-2025-20281

CRITICALNVD 10.010.0—
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 10.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-07-28), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 10.0 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 4 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
10.0
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS: 97%CVSS: 10.0Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

A vulnerability in a specific API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system as root. The attacker does not require any valid credentials to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted API request. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain root privileges on an affected device.

CVSS v3
10.0
EG Score
10.0(high)
EG Risk
100(Act)
EG Risk 100/100SSVC: Act

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity100% × 45%
Exploitation100% × 40%
Automatability100% × 15%
Action: Fix now — active exploitation, automatable, high impact.
EPSS
99.9%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

June 25, 2025

Last Modified

October 28, 2025

Advisory Details (3)

Auto-updated Jul 18, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Patch available. Sources: cisa.
generic

Zero Day Initiative — CVE-2025-20281: Cisco ISE API Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/blog/2025/7/24/cve-2025-20281-cisco-ise-api-unauthenticated-remote-code-execution-vulnerability
cisa Patch Available🔴 Active Exploitation

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA. Listed in CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-20281
generic🔴 Active Exploitation

Cisco Identity Services Engine Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities

https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-unauth-rce-ZAd2GnJ6

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 33× in last 7d / 178× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 360 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-07-23 02:49 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-07-22 20:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-07-22 19:40 UTCCISA KEV update
  4. 2026-07-22 16:40 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-07-22 16:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-07-22 14:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-22 14:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-22 12:19 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-07-22 07:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-07-22 03:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-07-21 23:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-07-21 18:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-07-21 14:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-07-21 14:37 UTCCISA KEV update
  15. 2026-07-21 10:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-07-21 06:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-07-21 01:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-07-20 21:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-07-20 17:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-07-20 12:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-07-20 08:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-07-20 04:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-07-19 23:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-07-19 19:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-07-19 15:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-07-19 10:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-07-19 06:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-07-19 02:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-07-18 21:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-07-18 17:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-07-18 13:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-07-18 08:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-07-18 04:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-07-18 00:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-07-17 19:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-07-17 15:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-07-17 11:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-07-17 06:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-07-17 02:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-07-16 22:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-07-16 17:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-07-16 17:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  18. 2026-07-16 17:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-07-16 17:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-07-16 13:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-07-16 09:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-07-16 05:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-07-16 00:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-07-15 20:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-07-15 16:49 UTCCISA KEV update
  26. 2026-07-15 16:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  27. 2026-07-15 15:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  28. 2026-07-15 11:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-07-15 07:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  30. 2026-07-15 03:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  31. 2026-07-14 22:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  32. 2026-07-14 18:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-07-14 18:05 UTCCISA KEV update
  34. 2026-07-14 14:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  35. 2026-07-14 09:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  36. 2026-07-14 05:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-07-14 01:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  38. 2026-07-13 20:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-07-13 17:07 UTCCISA KEV update
  40. 2026-07-13 16:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-07-13 12:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  42. 2026-07-13 07:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-07-13 03:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  44. 2026-07-12 23:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  45. 2026-07-12 18:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  46. 2026-07-12 14:36 UTCGHSA enrichment
  47. 2026-07-12 10:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  48. 2026-07-12 05:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-07-12 01:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  50. 2026-07-11 21:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  51. 2026-07-11 17:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  52. 2026-07-11 12:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  53. 2026-07-11 08:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  54. 2026-07-11 04:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  55. 2026-07-10 23:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
  56. 2026-07-10 19:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  57. 2026-07-10 17:52 UTCCISA KEV update
  58. 2026-07-10 15:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  59. 2026-07-10 10:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  60. 2026-07-10 06:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
  61. 2026-07-10 02:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  62. 2026-07-09 21:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  63. 2026-07-09 17:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  64. 2026-07-09 13:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  65. 2026-07-09 08:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  66. 2026-07-09 04:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-07-09 00:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  68. 2026-07-08 19:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  69. 2026-07-08 15:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  70. 2026-07-08 15:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  71. 2026-07-08 11:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  72. 2026-07-08 06:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  73. 2026-07-08 02:36 UTCGHSA enrichment
  74. 2026-07-07 22:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  75. 2026-07-07 19:01 UTCCISA KEV update

Publicly available exploits

(4 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (3 GitHub PoCs). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCill-deed/Cisco-CVE-2025-20281-illdeed
    First seen Jul 4, 2025

    Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution exploit for CVE-2025-20281 in Cisco ISE ERS API. Execute commands or launch reverse shells as root — no authentication required.

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCgrupooruss/CVE-2025-20281-Cisco
    First seen Jul 3, 2025

    This script checks for the presence of the **CVE-2025-20281** vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and ISE-PIC, which allows **unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE)** as root due to insufficient input validation in a specific API.

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCabrewer251/CVE-2025-20281-2-Cisco-ISE-RCE
    First seen Jun 27, 2025

    Unauthenticated Python PoC for CVE-2025-20281 RCE against ISE ERS API

    Open source ↗
  • Nucleihttp/cves/2025/CVE-2025-20281.yaml
    First seen Jan 1, 2025

    Cisco ISE - Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2025-20281?
CVE-2025-20281 is a critical vulnerability published on June 25, 2025. A vulnerability in a specific API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system as root. The attacker does not require any valid credentials to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability is due to…
When was CVE-2025-20281 disclosed?
CVE-2025-20281 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on June 25, 2025, with the most recent update on October 28, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2025-20281 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2025-20281 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on July 28, 2025, affecting Cisco Identity Services Engine. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-20281?
CVE-2025-20281 has a CVSS v3 base score of 10.0 (NVD).
Which products are affected by CVE-2025-20281?
CVE-2025-20281 affects Cisco Identity Services Engine. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2025-20281?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2025-20281, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2025-20281

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