Ethical Hacking News
A critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Cisco's Identity Services Engine (ISE) software has left millions of systems exposed to attacks. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-20281, allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the system with root privileges, effectively granting them complete control over the affected system. With no workarounds available yet, organizations must prioritize patching this vulnerability and implementing robust security controls to protect themselves from malicious actors.
Cisco's Identity Services Engine (ISE) software has a critical remote code execution (RCE) exploit, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges. The vulnerability, CVE-2025-20281, stems from unsafe deserialization and command injection in the enableStrongSwanTunnel() method. An attacker can upload arbitrary files to the system, effectively granting them complete control over the affected system. No workarounds for this vulnerability have been identified yet, making patching essential.
Cisco's popular Identity Services Engine (ISE) software has been left vulnerable to a critical remote code execution (RCE) exploit, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the system with root privileges. This alarming vulnerability was first disclosed by Cisco on June 25, 2025, and since then, it has become actively exploited in real-world attacks.
The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-20281, stems from a combination of two issues: unsafe deserialization and command injection in the enableStrongSwanTunnel() method. This means that an attacker can upload arbitrary files to the system and execute them with root privileges, effectively granting them complete control over the affected system.
In a recent blog post, security researcher Bobby Gould provided a detailed write-up of the exploit chain, including step-by-step instructions on how to trigger the command injection flaw in Cisco ISE. The exploit uses a serialized Java String[] payload to bypass argument tokenization issues and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges inside a Docker container.
Gould's research demonstrates that once the attacker has gained access to the system, they can escape from the privileged Docker container and gain root access on the host system using a well-known Linux container escape technique based on cgroups and release_agent. This allows the attackers to move laterally across the network and execute their malicious payload with complete impunity.
The vulnerability affects Cisco ISE versions 3.3 and 3.4, which are still widely used in many organizations around the world. Despite being actively exploited in real-world attacks, no workarounds for this vulnerability have been identified yet. The only recommended course of action is to apply the patches as directed by Cisco's bulletin.
The release of Gould's exploit write-up has significant implications for the security community, as it highlights the importance of keeping up-to-date with critical software updates and patching vulnerabilities quickly. As we've seen in recent years, delayed responses to known vulnerabilities can have devastating consequences, making it essential for organizations to prioritize security and take swift action to protect themselves.
In conclusion, the Cisco ISE vulnerability serves as a stark reminder of the importance of staying vigilant and proactive when it comes to software security. By taking steps to patch this vulnerability and implementing robust security controls, organizations can minimize their attack surface and reduce the risk of falling prey to malicious actors.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/Cisco-Identity-Services-Engine-ISE-Vulnerability-Leaves-Millions-Exposed-to-Remote-Code-Execution-Attacks-ehn.shtml
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/exploit-available-for-critical-cisco-ise-bug-exploited-in-attacks/
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20281
https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2025-20281/
Published: Mon Jul 28 19:35:47 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
