CVE-2025-20143

Cisco IOS XR Software Secure Boot Bypass Vulnerability

Severity
Medium 6.7
CVSS 3.1
Adjacent, local or physical access what this means
Exploited
Not listed
EPSS
0.001
1.1th percentile
Discovered by
Vendor
Vendor-published field
Published
Mar 12, 2025
Assigned by cisco

Description

A vulnerability in the boot process of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with high privileges to bypass the Secure Boot functionality and load unverified software on an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have root-system privileges on the affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient verification of modules in the software load process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by manipulating the loaded binaries to bypass some of the integrity checks that are performed during the booting process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to control the boot configuration, which could enable them to bypass the requirement to run Cisco-signed images or alter the security properties of the running system. Note: This vulnerability affects Cisco IOS XR Software, not the Secure Boot feature. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-347

Affected products

Vendor Product Category Matched by
Cisco Cisco IOS XR Software Routing & Switching cna-assigner
Vendor-reported products (1)
  • Cisco · Cisco IOS XR Software

Vendor advisory

cisco-sa-sb-lkm-zNErZjbZ

Cisco IOS XR Software Secure Boot Bypass Vulnerability

Cisco’s rating: High (advisory CVSS 6.7) · Published Mar 12, 2025

Bug IDs: CSCvx66790 , CSCvx66852

The vendor’s rating applies to the whole advisory and can differ from this CVE’s own CVSS severity. Where this comes from

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