# CVE-2025-20261: Cisco Integrated Management Controller Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

> Authenticated attackers can escalate privileges via SSH to access internal services and create administrator accounts on Cisco UCS servers.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Jun 2025
- **Updated:** 26 Feb 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2vx9-p4fj-xxq6

## What is CVE-2025-20261?

CVE-2025-20261 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco Unified Computing System (Managed), published on 4 Jun 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the SSH connection handling of Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) for Cisco UCS B-Series, UCS C-Series, UCS S-Series, and UCS X-Series Servers could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to access internal services with elevated privileges.

This vulnerability is due to insufficient restrictions on access to internal services. An attacker with a valid user account could exploit this vulnerability by using crafted syntax when connecting to the Cisco IMC of an affected device through SSH. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to access internal services with elevated privileges, which may allow unauthorized modifications to the system, including the possibility of creating new administrator accounts on the affected device.

Weakness: CWE-923 (Improper Restriction of Communication Channel to Intended Endpoints)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-20261?


## How do I fix CVE-2025-20261?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-20261 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-20261 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-20261 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-20261 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-20261 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco Unified Computing System (Managed), published on 4 Jun 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-20261 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Unified Computing System (Managed). 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-2025-20261/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20261/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-20261
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20261
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-20261

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20261/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.