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CVE-2025-20161· NVD / CVE Program· CNA cisco

Cisco NX-OS Software Command Injection Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the software upgrade process of Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode could allow an authenticated, local attacker with valid Administrator credentials to execute a command injection attack on the underlying operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of specific elements within a software image. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by installing a crafted image. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges.  Note: Administrators should validate the hash of any software image before installation.

MediumCVSS 5.1 · v3.1—No exploit No fix recorded
Published
Feb 26, 2025
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.5% · 40th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

20

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
20 / 40 · 5.1 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.5%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · cisco
5.1
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Affected systems

—

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (cisco). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Cisco Cisco NX-OS Software

    • 9.2(3), 7.0(3)I5(2), 6.0(2)A8(7a), 7.0(3)I4(5), 7.0(3)I4(6), 7.0(3)I4(3), 9.2(2v), 7.0(3)I4(7), 7.0(3)I4(1), 7.0(3)I4(8), 7.0(3)I4(2), 6.0(2)A8(11) … (+28)affected

Same product

cisco: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-20212Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series Switches Silicon One Hardware Abstraction Layer Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2024-20446Cisco NX-OS Software DHCPv6 Relay Agent Denial of Service Vulnerability
    34Monitor
  • CVE-2026-20051Cisco Nexus 3600-R and 9500-R Series Switching Platforms Layer 2 Loop Denial of Service Vulnerability
    29Monitor
  • CVE-2026-20010Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series Switches Link Layer Discovery Protocol Denial of Service Vulnerability
    29Monitor
  • CVE-2025-20241Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series Switches IS-IS Protocol <TBD> Denial of Service Vulnerability
    29Monitor
  • CVE-2025-20191Multiple Cisco Products Denial of Service Vulnerability
    29Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2025-20292182 days apartCisco NXOS Software Command Injection Vulnerability
    18Monitor
  • CVE-2024-20289182 days apartCisco NX-OS Software Command Injection Vulnerability
    17Monitor

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • Administrator privileges are required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
low · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
Low
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-78 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N

nvd-secondary

Root cause

User input is inserted as text into a shell command. The shell may interpret special characters in the input as part of the command.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-78 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
const host = req.body.host;exec("ping -c 1 " + host, onResult);

Fixed

ts
const host = req.body.host;if (!/^[a-z0-9.-]{1,253}$/i.test(host)) return res.sendStatus(400);execFile("ping", ["-c", "1", host], onResult);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

We use this product, ask for help

Change log

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records