Full Report
Cisco has released security patches to address a critical security flaw impacting the Identity Services Engine (ISE) that, if successfully exploited, could allow unauthenticated actors to carry out malicious actions on susceptible systems. The security defect, tracked as CVE-2025-20286, carries a CVSS score of 9.9 out of 10.0. It has been described as a static credential vulnerability. "A
Analysis Summary
# Vulnerability: Critical Cisco ISE Static Credential Authentication Bypass in Cloud Deployments
## CVE Details
- CVE ID: CVE-2025-20286
- CVSS Score: 9.9 (Critical)
- CWE: Potential static credential weakness (Implied)
## Affected Systems
- Products: Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
- Versions:
- AWS: Releases 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4
- Azure: Releases 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4
- OCI: Releases 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4
- Configurations: Only affected when the **Primary Administration node is deployed in the cloud (AWS, Azure, or OCI)**. On-premises deployments are not impacted.
## Vulnerability Description
The vulnerability is due to improperly generated static credentials when Cisco ISE is deployed on cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, OCI). These static credentials are not unique across all deployments; instead, they are shared among all instances of a specific ISE software release running on the *same* cloud platform. An attacker who compromises the credentials of one ISE deployment (e.g., ISE 3.1 on AWS) can use those credentials to access *other* vulnerable ISE deployments running the same release on the same cloud platform via unsecured ports. Successful exploitation allows unauthorized access to sensitive data, execution of limited administrative operations, modification of system configurations, or service disruption.
## Exploitation
- Status: **PoC available**. No evidence of malicious exploitation in the wild reported by Cisco.
- Complexity: Implied Low/Medium (Requires knowledge of the static credential generation scheme per release/platform).
- Attack Vector: Network (Remote)
## Impact
- Confidentiality: High (Access to sensitive data)
- Integrity: High (Modification of system configurations)
- Availability: High (Disruption of services)
## Remediation
### Patches
- Specific patch versions were not explicitly listed in the summary, but users must apply the security patches released by Cisco to address CVE-2025-20286. Users should consult the official Cisco Security Advisory for precise fixed versions.
### Workarounds
1. **Restrict Network Access:** Limit traffic to the affected ISE nodes to only authorized administrative personnel.
2. **Reset Credentials (Warning):** Run the command `application reset-config ise` to reset user passwords to a new value. **WARNING**: Executing this command will reset Cisco ISE to its factory configuration.
## Detection
- **Indicators of Compromise (IoC):** Look for unauthorized access attempts or confirmed logins against Primary Administration nodes in the cloud using shared/predictable credentials based on the release version and cloud provider.
- **Detection Methods and Tools:** Monitor network traffic targeting exposed ISE administration ports for anomalous authentication attempts originating from unexpected sources.
## References
- [Cisco Security Advisory for CVE-2025-20286](https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-aws-static-cred-FPMjUcm7) (Link defanged)
- [Source Article on The Hacker News](https://thehackernews.com/2025/06/critical-cisco-ise-auth-bypass-flaw.html) (Link defanged)