Overview
This report discusses CVE-2025-20202, a severe vulnerability found in Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software. It impacts the network infrastructure of organizations utilizing the affected software, posing a significant threat to their operations and data integrity. This vulnerability, if exploited, could allow an attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition, disrupting network services and potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-20202
Severity: High (7.4 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: A successful exploit of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to cause a denial of service condition, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.
Affected Products
Share secrets securely
Ameeba is private infrastructure for communication and sensitive work built on encrypted identity instead of exposed corporate identity systems.
Passwords, credentials, confidential files, screenshots, internal discussions, sensitive AI context, and private coordination should not become exposed across ordinary communication platforms.
- • Encrypted identity
- • Private Spaces for organizations and teams
- • End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, files, and notes
- • Sensitive AI work and protected collaboration
- • Built for information that cannot leak
Our mission is to secure human work alongside AI.
Product | Affected Versions
Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software | All versions prior to the latest patch
How the Exploit Works
This vulnerability is due to inadequate input validation of access point (AP) Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) neighbor reports when processed by the wireless controller. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending a maliciously crafted CDP packet to an AP. If successful, the attacker could cause an unexpected reload of the wireless controller managing the AP, resulting in a denial of service condition that disrupts the wireless network.
Conceptual Example Code
The following is a conceptual representation of the maliciously crafted CDP packet sent to the access point:
cdp send interface eth0
Destination MAC: 01:00:0C:CC:CC:CC
CDP Version: 2
TTL: 180
Checksum: 0x0000 (incorrect)
Device ID: Malicious_Device
Software Version: Cisco IOS Software, C2960 Software (C2960-LANBASEK9-M), Version 12.2(25)SEE2, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Platform: cisco WS-C2960-8TC-L
Addresses: 1 address
1. IP: 192.0.2.1
Port ID: Gig 0/1
Capabilities: Router, L2 Switch, IGMP filtering
VTP Management Domain:
Native VLAN: 1
Duplex: full
Power available: 0 mW, Power request id: 0, Power management id: 0Please note that the above pseudocode is a conceptual representation of how an exploit may occur. The actual exploit would be specific to the vulnerabilities in the code of the affected software.
Mitigation Guidance
To mitigate this vulnerability, it is recommended to apply the latest patch provided by the vendor. In case the patch cannot be applied immediately, the use of Web Application Firewalls (WAF) or Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) could serve as a temporary mitigation measure. These tools can help identify and block the crafted CDP packets that could exploit the vulnerability.