Cisco Identity Services Engine contains an injection vulnerability in a specific API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input allowing an attacker to exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted API request. Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to perform remote code execution and obtaining root privileges on an affected device.
Cisco ยท Identity Services Engine
Known ransomware use: Unknown
Follow the source advisory and validate exposure in your environment.
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Recent reporting that mentions CVE-2025-20281.
Security researcher Bobby Gould has published a blog post demonstrating a complete exploit chain for CVE-2025-20281, an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE). [...]