How severe is CVE-2025-20338?

CVE-2025-20338 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.0, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.

Is CVE-2025-20338 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (5th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-20338?

CVE-2025-20338 primarily affects Cisco Ios Xe. In total, 374 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2025-20338?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

Does CVE-2025-20338 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2025-20338 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-31025.

When was CVE-2025-20338 published?

CVE-2025-20338 was published on 2025-09-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2025-20338

CVE-2025-20338 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.0. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-141.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.0)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (5th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2025-31025
Weakness: CWE-141
Affected product: Cisco Ios Xe
Published: 2025-09-24
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with administrative privileges 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 could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the device CLI with valid administrative (level 15) credentials and using crafted commands at the CLI prompt. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-20338?: A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with administrative privileges 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 could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the device CLI with valid administrative (level 15) credentials and using crafted commands at the CLI prompt. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root.
How severe is CVE-2025-20338?: CVE-2025-20338 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.0, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.
Is CVE-2025-20338 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (5th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2025-20338?: CVE-2025-20338 primarily affects Cisco Ios Xe. In total, 374 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2025-20338?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2025-20338 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2025-20338 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-31025.
When was CVE-2025-20338 published?: CVE-2025-20338 was published on 2025-09-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxe-arg-inject-EyDDbh4e

Affected products (374)

cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.0e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.0sq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.1e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.1sq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.2e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.2sq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.3e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.3sq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.4sq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.5sq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.6sq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.7sq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.5.8sq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.0e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.1e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.2ae:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.2e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.3e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.4e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.5ae:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.5e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.6e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.7be:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.7e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.8e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.9e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.6.10e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.7.0e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.7.1e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.7.2e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.7.3e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.7.4e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.7.5e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.8.0e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.8.1e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.8.2e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.8.3e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.8.4e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.8.5ae:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.8.5e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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