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CVE-2025-20315: Denial of Service Vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE’s NBAR Feature

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Overview

CVE-2025-20315 is a severe vulnerability found in the Network-Based Application Recognition (NBAR) feature of Cisco IOS XE Software. This flaw allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to reload, creating a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability has significant importance as it affects a wide range of devices running on Cisco IOS XE Software, potentially causing extensive downtime and disruption. The ease of exploit and potential system compromise or data leakage necessitates prompt attention and mitigation.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-20315
Severity: High (8.6 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network-based
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Unexpected device reloading, potential system compromise or data leakage, and denial of service.

Affected Products

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Product | Affected Versions

Cisco IOS XE Software | All versions prior to the latest patch

How the Exploit Works

This vulnerability arises from improper handling of malformed Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) packets. A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending malformed CAPWAP packets through a device running on vulnerable Cisco IOS XE Software. Successful exploitation could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload unexpectedly, leading to a denial of service condition.

Conceptual Example Code

This conceptual example demonstrates the potential exploit of this vulnerability. An attacker could send a malformed CAPWAP packet like this:

POST /CAPWAP/packet HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/capwap
{ "malformed_packet": "malicious_payload" }

This malformed CAPWAP packet could cause the device to reload, creating a denial of service condition.

Mitigation Actions

Vulnerable users are advised to apply the vendor patch from Cisco immediately. As a temporary mitigation, users can also use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect and prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability. However, these temporary measures do not replace the need for patching the system, which offers a more permanent solution to the vulnerability.

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Disclaimer:

The information and code presented in this article are provided for educational and defensive cybersecurity purposes only. Any conceptual or pseudocode examples are simplified representations intended to raise awareness and promote secure development and system configuration practices.

Do not use this information to attempt unauthorized access or exploit vulnerabilities on systems that you do not own or have explicit permission to test.

Ameeba and its authors do not endorse or condone malicious behavior and are not responsible for misuse of the content. Always follow ethical hacking guidelines, responsible disclosure practices, and local laws.

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