CVE-2025-20248
MediumCVSS 6.0Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk1th percentile - higher than 1% of all known CVEs
Summary
A vulnerability in the installation process of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to bypass image signature verification and load unsigned software. This is due to incomplete validation of files during .iso installation.
Risk Assessment
An attacker with root-system privileges could install unauthorized software, potentially leading to full device compromise.
Recommendation
Apply Cisco-provided updates and restrict device access to trusted personnel only.
Other vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS XR Software
See all- CVE-2017-6731High
A vulnerability in Multicast Source Discovery Protocol (MSDP) ingress packet processing for Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the MSDP session to be unexpectedly reset, leading to a short denial of service (DoS) condition. The MSDP session will restart within a few seconds.
- CVE-2017-6728High
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary code at the root privilege level on an affected system, due to Incorrect Permissions.
- CVE-2016-9205High
A vulnerability in the HTTP 2.0 request handling code of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the Event Management Service daemon (emsd) to crash, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition.
- CVE-2020-3569HighActively exploited
Multiple vulnerabilities in the Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol (DVMRP) feature of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to immediately crash the IGMP process or cause memory exhaustion and eventual crash. This is due to incorrect handling of IGMP packets.
- CVE-2020-3566HighActively exploited
A vulnerability in the Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol (DVMRP) feature of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to exhaust process memory of an affected device. This is due to insufficient queue management for IGMP packets.
- CVE-2026-20280High
A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XR Software was discovered during an internal security review. It relates to improper checking or handling of exceptional conditions, classified as CWE-703.
- CVE-2026-20278High
A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XR Software was discovered during an internal security review. It relates to improper neutralization issues, classified as CWE-707.
- CVE-2026-20277High
A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XR Software was discovered during an internal security review. It relates to protection mechanism failure issues, classified as CWE-693.
- CVE-2026-20276High
A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XR Software was discovered during an internal security review. It relates to insufficient control flow management issues, classified as CWE-691.
- CVE-2026-20275High
A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XR Software was discovered during an internal security review. It relates to incorrect calculation issues, classified as CWE-682.
Original NVD description (English source)
A vulnerability in the installation process of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to bypass Cisco IOS XR Software image signature verification and load unsigned software on an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have root-system privileges on the affected device. This vulnerability is due to incomplete validation of files during the installation of an .iso file. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by modifying contents of the .iso image and then installing and activating it on the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to load an unsigned file as part of the image activation process.
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS