CVE-2025-20188

critical

Description

A vulnerability in the Out-of-Band Access Point (AP) Image Download feature 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 image download interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to upload files, perform path traversal, and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges. Note: For exploitation to be successful, the Out-of-Band AP Image Download feature must be enabled on the device. It is not enabled by default.

https://www.securityweek.com/cisco-patches-35-vulnerabilities-across-several-products/

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/cisco-fixes-max-severity-ios-xe-flaw-letting-attackers-hijack-devices/

https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/cisco-patches-cve-2025-20188-100-cvss.html

https://securityaffairs.com/177609/security/cisco-fixed-a-critical-flaw-in-its-ios-xe-wireless-controller.html

https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-wlc-file-uplpd-rHZG9UfC

https://horizon3.ai/attack-research/attack-blogs/cisco-ios-xe-wlc-arbitrary-file-upload-vulnerability-cve-2025-20188-analysis/

Details

Source: Mitre, NVD

Published: 2025-05-07

Updated: 2025-06-04

Risk Information

CVSS v2

Base Score: 10

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Severity: Critical

CVSS v3

Base Score: 10

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Severity: Critical

EPSS

EPSS: 0.00154

Vulnerability Watch

Tenable Research has classified this CVE under the following Vulnerability Watch classification, which includes active and historical (inactive) classifications. You can learn more about these classifications on our blog.

Vulnerability Being Monitored

Detections

Analytics