{"id":38195,"date":"2025-05-14T17:51:04","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T17:51:04","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-01T22:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T04:12:07","slug":"cve-2025-20186-command-injection-vulnerability-in-cisco-ios-xe-software-s-wireless-lan-controller-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-20186-command-injection-vulnerability-in-cisco-ios-xe-software-s-wireless-lan-controller-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-20186: Command Injection Vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software&#8217;s Wireless LAN Controller Feature<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The vulnerability under discussion, CVE-2025-20186, is a critical flaw found in the web-based management interface of Cisco&#8217;s IOS XE Software, particularly within the Wireless LAN Controller feature. This vulnerability has far-reaching consequences as it allows an authenticated, remote attacker with specific user access to carry out a command injection attack on affected devices, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage. It&#8217;s a significant issue due to Cisco&#8217;s widespread usage in businesses and enterprises worldwide, whose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-7032-security-flaw-allowing-privilege-escalation-through-untrusted-data-deserialization\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"47546\">data security<\/a> could be at risk if they utilize the affected software.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2025-20186<br \/>\nSeverity: Critical (8.8)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Web-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-23256-nvidia-bluefield-management-interface-vulnerability\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"87095\">management interface<\/a><br \/>\nPrivileges Required: Lobby ambassador <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-34509-hardcoded-user-account-in-sitecore-xm-and-xp-enabling-unauthenticated-remote-access\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"62816\">user account<\/a><br \/>\nUser Interaction: None<br \/>\nImpact: Possible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-30165-potential-system-compromise-in-vllm-v0-engine\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"44036\">system compromise<\/a>, data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-1247914615\" class=\"ameeb-content-2 ameeb-entity-placement\"><div style=\"border-left: 4px solid #555; padding-left: 20px; margin: 48px 0; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 700px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 8px;\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Best-App-icon-Ameeba.png\" alt=\"Ameeba Chat Icon\" style=\"width: 40px; height: 40px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    A new way to communicate\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 12px;\">\r\n    Ameeba Chat is built on encrypted identity, not personal profiles.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 16px;\">\r\n    Message, call, share files, and coordinate with identities kept separate.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\r\n    <li>\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Ameeba Chat authenticates access<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Aliases and categories<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, and files<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Secure notes for sensitive information<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\r\n    Private communication, rethought.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <div style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 12px;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\/download\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Download Ameeba Chat<\/a>\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Learn More<\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-20188-cisco-ios-xe-software-for-wireless-lan-controllers-security-vulnerability\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"44059\">Cisco IOS XE Software<\/a> | All versions prior to the patched version<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The vulnerability is a result of insufficient input validation in the web-based management interface of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-45616-incorrect-access-control-vulnerability-in-the-admin-api-of-brcc-v1-2-0\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"43312\">Cisco&#8217;s IOS XE Software&#8217;s Wireless LAN Controller<\/a> feature. An attacker, having access to a lobby ambassador user account, can exploit this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-43559-coldfusion-improper-input-validation-vulnerability-leading-to-arbitrary-code-execution\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"49237\">vulnerability by sending crafted input<\/a> to this interface. If the exploit is successful, the attacker can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-37446-arbitrary-code-execution-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-3-3-115\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42959\">execute arbitrary<\/a> Cisco IOS XE Software CLI commands with the highest privilege level, 15, typically reserved for system administrators.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-778255462\" class=\"ameeb-content ameeb-entity-placement\"><div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"f6b387694f681\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Here is a conceptual example of how an attacker might <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-24189-memory-corruption-vulnerability-due-to-maliciously-crafted-web-content-in-various-operating-systems\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"51774\">craft a payload to exploit this vulnerability:<\/a><\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">POST \/web-management-interface HTTP\/1.1\nHost: target.example.com\nContent-Type: application\/json\nAuthorization: Bearer &lt;Lobby_Ambassador_Token&gt;\n{ &quot;command&quot;: &quot;; &lt;arbitrary CLI command with privilege level 15&gt; ;&quot; }<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>In this example, if the `command` parameter is not properly sanitized, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-37576-arbitrary-code-execution-vulnerability-in-gtkwave\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"43257\">arbitrary CLI command will be executed<\/a> with the highest system privileges.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Recommended Mitigation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-39486-rankie-sql-injection-vulnerability-and-mitigation-measures\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"62817\">mitigate this vulnerability<\/a>, organizations should apply the vendor-provided patch as soon as possible. In the interim, organizations can use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-38657-out-of-bounds-write-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-lxt2-zlib-block-decompression\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"43154\">block attempts to exploit this vulnerability<\/a>. Additionally, organizations should consider disabling or restricting access to the lobby ambassador user account, as it is not configured by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-28200-weak-default-password-vulnerability-in-victure-rx1800-en-v1-0-0-r12-110933\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"45875\">default and its possession is necessary for the vulnerability<\/a> to be exploitable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview The vulnerability under discussion, CVE-2025-20186, is a critical flaw found in the web-based management interface of Cisco&#8217;s IOS XE Software, particularly within the Wireless LAN Controller feature. This vulnerability has far-reaching consequences as it allows an authenticated, remote attacker with specific user access to carry out a command injection attack on affected devices, potentially [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[77,96],"product":[97],"attack_vector":[78],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-38195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","vendor-apple","vendor-cisco","product-cisco-ios-xe","attack_vector-injection"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38195"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79940,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38195\/revisions\/79940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38195"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=38195"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=38195"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=38195"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=38195"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=38195"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=38195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}