CVE-2025-20164 Privilege escalation in IOS
Authenticated attackers with privilege level 5 can elevate to level 15 via crafted HTTP requests in Cisco IOS Device Manager.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2025-20164?
CVE-2025-20164 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco IOS, published on 7 May 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A vulnerability in the Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switch Device Manager (DM) of Cisco IOS Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privileges. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of authorizations for authenticated users. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to privilege level 15. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid credentials for a user account with privilege level 5 or higher. Read-only DM users are assigned privilege level 5.
Weakness: CWE-862
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-20164?
How do I fix CVE-2025-20164?
No fix has been published for CVE-2025-20164 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2025-20164 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-20164 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-3grg-fvvv-2qrm.