CVE-2025-20313 Path traversal in Cisco IOS XE Software

Medium 6.7 Published 24 Sep 2025 Updated 26 Feb 2026

An attacker with local access or physical presence can exploit path traversal to execute persistent code and bypass security features on Cisco IOS XE devices.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: An administrator
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2025-20313?

CVE-2025-20313 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 24 Sep 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Multiple vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS XE Software of could allow an authenticated, local attacker with level-15 privileges or an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the device to execute persistent code at boot time and break the chain of trust. These vulnerabilities are due path traversal and improper image integrity validation. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute persistent code on the underlying operating system. Because this allows the attacker to bypass a major security feature of the device, Cisco has raised the Security Impact Rating (SIR) of this advisory from Medium to High. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details ["#details"] section of this advisory. ERP

Weakness: CWE-35

Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-20313?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Cisco Ios Xe.

How do I fix CVE-2025-20313?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-20313 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2025-20313 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-20313 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Cisco Ios Xe vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-8vx8-2pfg-45rm.