# CVE-2025-20184: Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager and Secure Web Appliance Command Injection Vulnerability

> Authenticated administrators can inject OS commands via crafted XML files, leading to root-level code execution on Cisco Secure Email and Web appliances.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g9mx-x5c2-8c9j

## What is CVE-2025-20184?

CVE-2025-20184 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Asyncos, published on 5 Feb 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Secure Email Gateway and Cisco Secure Web Appliance could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform command injection attacks against an affected device. The attacker must authenticate with valid administrator credentials.

This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of XML configuration files by an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted XML configuration file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject commands to the underlying operating system with root privileges.

Weakness: CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command), CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-20184?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Asyncos.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-20184?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-20184 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-20184 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-20184 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Asyncos

- [CVE-2025-20393](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20393/): Cisco Multiple Products Improper Input Validation (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-76519](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76519/): Cisco Secure Email Gateway Relative Path Traversal (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-76461](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76461/): Cisco Secure Email Gateway SQL Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-20435](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20435/): Command injection in Cisco Secure Web Appliance (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-15956](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15956/): Cisco Web Security Appliance Unauthorized Device Reset Vulnerability (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-20184 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-20184 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Asyncos, published on 5 Feb 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-20184 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Asyncos. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20184/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20184/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-20184
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20184
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-20184

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20184/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.