Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Arbitrary File Upload (cisco-sa-wlc-file-uplpd-rHZG9UfC)

critical Nessus Plugin ID 236785

Synopsis

The remote device is missing a vendor-supplied security patch

Description

According to its self-reported version, Cisco IOS-XE Software is affected by a vulnerability.

- 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.
(CVE-2025-20188)

Please see the included Cisco BIDs and Cisco Security Advisory for more information.

Solution

Upgrade to the relevant fixed version referenced in Cisco bug ID CSCwk33139

See Also

http://www.nessus.org/u?e0d2e64f

http://www.nessus.org/u?564dd2a1

https://bst.cloudapps.cisco.com/bugsearch/bug/CSCwk33139

Plugin Details

Severity: Critical

ID: 236785

File Name: cisco-sa-wlc-file-uplpd-rHZG9UfC-iosxe.nasl

Version: 1.1

Type: combined

Family: CISCO

Published: 5/15/2025

Updated: 5/15/2025

Supported Sensors: Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Critical

Score: 10.0

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Critical

Base Score: 10

Temporal Score: 7.4

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

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2025-20188

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: Critical

Base Score: 10

Temporal Score: 8.7

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

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:cisco:ios_xe

Required KB Items: Host/Cisco/IOS-XE/Version, Host/Cisco/IOS-XE/Model

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 5/7/2025

Vulnerability Publication Date: 5/7/2025

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2025-20188

CWE: 798

CISCO-SA: cisco-sa-wlc-file-uplpd-rHZG9UfC

IAVA: 2025-A-0318

CISCO-BUG-ID: CSCwk33139