Ios Xr
CVE-2025-20138
HIGH
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization OS command sanitization, avoid shell exec
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.04%. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A local attacker with access to the system could execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 28, 2026
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying operating system of an affected device. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
RemediationAI
No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Avoid passing user input to shell commands. Use language-specific APIs instead of shell execution. Apply strict input validation with allowlists.
Affects your stack
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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78), which allows attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host. A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user arguments that are passed to specific CLI commands. An attacker with a low-privileged account could exploit this vulnerability by using crafted commands at the prompt. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root and execute arbitrary commands. Affected products include: Cisco Ios Xr.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionCVE.org
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying operating system of an affected device.
This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user arguments that are passed to specific CLI commands. An attacker with a low-privileged account could exploit this vulnerability by using crafted commands at the prompt. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root and execute arbitrary commands.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2025-20138 presents significant security risk, a OS command injection vulnerability rated CVSS 8.8. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or commands on affected systems, potentially leading to full system compromise. Organizations should apply vendor updates when available and consider compensating controls in the interim.
Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Deploy WAF rules to block injection patterns; (2) Restrict network access to affected components; (3) Enable enhanced logging for suspicious activity.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands.
Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org
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A vulnerability in the sysadmin virtual machine (VM) on Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers running Cisco
A vulnerability in the classic access control list (ACL) compression feature of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an una
Insufficient CLI argument validation in Cisco IOS XR Software enables authenticated local attackers to achieve root-leve
Cisco IOS XR Software contains a task group mapping flaw in a specific CLI command that allows authenticated local attac
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A vulnerability in the Cisco Discovery Protocol implementation for Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated,
Multiple Buffer Overflow vulnerabilities in the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) subsystem of Cisco IOS Software, Ci
A vulnerability in confederation implementation for the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) in Cisco IOS XR Software coul
GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB