CVE-2025-20284: 
Cisco ISE vulnerability analysis and mitigation

A vulnerability (CVE-2025-20284) was discovered in a specific API of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC). The vulnerability, disclosed on July 16, 2025, allows an authenticated remote attacker with valid high-privileged credentials to execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system as root. This vulnerability affects multiple versions of Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC software (Cisco Advisory, NVD).

The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied input in the API interface. It has been assigned CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component). The vulnerability has received a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (Medium) with the vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N, indicating network accessibility, low attack complexity, and high privileges required (Cisco Advisory).

A successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to execute commands as the root user on the affected system, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The impact is particularly severe as it affects the system's root privileges, though it requires the attacker to already possess high-privileged credentials (NVD).

Cisco has released software updates to address this vulnerability. For version 3.3, users should upgrade to 3.3 Patch 7, and for version 3.4, users should upgrade to 3.4 Patch 2. There are no workarounds available for this vulnerability, making it critical for affected users to apply the provided patches (Cisco Advisory).

The vulnerability was reported by Kentaro Kawane of GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae, working with Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative (Cisco Advisory).