Overview
The recently identified vulnerability CVE-2025-20352 threatens the security of systems running Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software. This vulnerability lies in the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) subsystem of these software, and if exploited, could lead to a system compromise or data leakage. Due to its severity and potential widespread impact, it warrants immediate attention and remediation.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-20352
Severity: Critical (7.7 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low to High
User Interaction: None
Impact: Denial of Service (DoS) condition on a low-privilege attack, and potential system compromise or data leakage in a high-privilege attack.
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Cisco IOS Software | All versions
Cisco IOS XE Software | All versions
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability arises from a stack overflow condition in the SNMP subsystem of the affected software. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted SNMP packet to an affected device over IPv4 or IPv6 networks. For low-privilege attackers, the exploit could cause the system to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. High-privilege attackers with the necessary credentials could potentially escalate their privileges, execute arbitrary code as the root user, and gain full control of the system.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited:
import snmp_packet
def exploit(target, community_string, credentials):
malicious_payload = create_malicious_payload()
# Create a crafted SNMP packet with the malicious payload
packet = snmp_packet.create(version=2, community=community_string, PDU=malicious_payload)
# Send the crafted packet to the target
snmp_packet.send(target, packet, credentials)
exploit('target.example.com', 'public', ('admin', 'password'))This code represents the steps an attacker might take to exploit the vulnerability. However, the actual exploit would likely be more complex and involve specific methods for creating and sending the malicious SNMP packet.
