CVE-2025-20248

Cisco IOS XR Software Image Verification Bypass Vulnerability

Severity
Medium 6
CVSS 3.1
Exploited
Not listed
EPSS
0.001
0.8th percentile
Discovered by
Third party
Published by the vendor
Published
Sep 10, 2025
Assigned by cisco

Description

A vulnerability in the installation process of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to bypass Cisco IOS XR Software image signature verification and load unsigned 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 incomplete validation of files during the installation of an .iso file. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by modifying contents of the .iso image and then installing and activating it on the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to load an unsigned file as part of the image activation process.

Weakness: CWE-347

Affected products

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