CVE-2025-20159 Cisco IOS XR Software Management Interface ACL Bypass Vulnerability
Unauthenticated remote attackers can bypass management interface ACLs on Cisco IOS XR devices, exposing SSH, NetConf, and gRPC services.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2025-20159?
CVE-2025-20159 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco IOS XR Software, published on 10 Sep 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A vulnerability in the management interface access control list (ACL) processing feature in Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass configured ACLs for the SSH, NetConf, and gRPC features. This vulnerability exists because management interface ACLs have not been supported on Cisco IOS XR Software Packet I/O infrastructure platforms for Linux-handled features such as SSH, NetConf, or gRPC. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by attempting to send traffic to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass an ingress ACL that is applied on the management interface of the affected device.
Weakness: CWE-284
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-20159?
How do I fix CVE-2025-20159?
No fix has been published for CVE-2025-20159 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2025-20159 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-20159 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-6rcj-394r-r32c.