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CVE-2025-20309

critical

Description

A vulnerability in Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) and Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (Unified CM SME) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected device using the root account, which has default, static credentials that cannot be changed or deleted. This vulnerability is due to the presence of static user credentials for the root account that are reserved for use during development. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using the account to log in to an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to the affected system and execute arbitrary commands as the root user.

References

https://hackread.com/cisco-emergency-fix-critical-root-credential-flaw-unified-cm/

https://www.securityweek.com/cisco-warns-of-hardcoded-credentials-in-enterprise-software/

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/07/03/cisco-fixes-maximum-severity-flaw-in-enterprise-unified-comms-platform-cve-2025-20309/

https://www.databreachtoday.com/static-credentials-flaw-patched-in-cisco-systems-a-28899

https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/02/cisco_patch_cvss/

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/cisco-removes-unified-cm-callManager-backdoor-root-account/

https://thehackernews.com/2025/07/critical-cisco-vulnerability-in-unified.html

https://securityaffairs.com/179577/security/cisco-removed-the-backdoor-account-from-its-unified-communications-manager.html

https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cucm-ssh-m4UBdpE7?vs_f=Cisco%20Security%20Advisory%26vs_cat=Security%20Intelligence%26vs_type=RSS%26vs_p=Cisco%20Unified%20Communications%20Manager%20Static%20SSH%20Credentials%20Vulnerability%26vs_k=1

https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cucm-ssh-m4UBdpE7

Details

Source: Mitre, NVD

Published: 2025-07-02

Updated: 2025-07-03

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:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Severity: Critical

EPSS

EPSS: 0.00131

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