CVE-2025-20269: Cisco EPNM Information Disclosure Flaw

CVE-2025-20269 Overview

Cisco disclosed CVE-2025-20269, an arbitrary file read vulnerability affecting the web-based management interface of Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager (EPNM) and Cisco Prime Infrastructure. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation on specific HTTP requests. An authenticated, low-privileged, remote attacker can send crafted HTTP requests to retrieve arbitrary files from the underlying file system. Successful exploitation exposes sensitive files, including configuration data and credentials that support further intrusion into managed network infrastructure. The weakness is tracked under CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path.

Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers can read arbitrary files from EPNM and Prime Infrastructure hosts, exposing configuration data, credentials, and operational secrets that support lateral movement into managed network devices.

Affected Products

Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager (including versions 8.0.0 and 8.1.0)
Cisco Prime Infrastructure
Cisco Prime Infrastructure 3.10.6 Security Update 01

Discovery Timeline

2025-08-20 - CVE-2025-20269 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-20269

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2025-20269 is a path-handling flaw in the web-based management interface of Cisco EPNM and Prime Infrastructure. The interface processes specific HTTP requests containing file references without adequately validating or normalizing the supplied path values. An authenticated user with low privileges can supply crafted request parameters that direct the application to open files outside the expected content boundary. The server returns file contents to the requester, resulting in disclosure of sensitive data stored on the appliance.

EPNM and Prime Infrastructure are network management platforms that store device inventories, credentials for managed equipment, and configuration backups. File read primitives against these platforms therefore have downstream implications for the wider managed network, not just the appliance itself.

Root Cause

The root cause is insufficient input validation for file-path components accepted by the management interface. The application trusts caller-supplied identifiers to resolve on-disk resources, allowing controlled traversal of the file system. This matches the CWE-73 pattern in which external input is used to select or construct a file path without adequate constraint enforcement.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network reachability to the management interface and valid low-privilege credentials. The attacker authenticates, then issues one or more HTTP requests whose parameters reference target files on the appliance. The server returns the file contents to the authenticated session. No user interaction is required, and the attack does not affect availability or integrity, only confidentiality.

No public proof-of-concept exploit code is available at publication. Refer to the Cisco Security Advisory for vendor-provided technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-20269

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP requests from authenticated low-privilege accounts targeting file-retrieval endpoints of the EPNM or Prime Infrastructure web interface with unusual path parameters.
Web server access logs showing sequential requests referencing sensitive paths such as configuration files, credential stores, or system directories.
Anomalous outbound data volumes from authenticated management sessions that do not match normal operator workflows.

Detection Strategies

Enable verbose HTTP request logging on the management interface and alert on parameters containing path traversal sequences or absolute file paths.
Baseline the request patterns of low-privilege operator accounts and flag deviations, such as file-read endpoints being invoked outside normal roles.
Correlate authentication events with subsequent high-volume file retrieval activity from the same session identifier.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward EPNM and Prime Infrastructure web and application logs to a centralized analytics platform for retention and query.
Monitor for repeated 200-status responses to file-fetch endpoints from a single low-privilege account within a short interval.
Track administrative account creation, privilege changes, and password resets on downstream network devices managed by the affected appliance, as credentials disclosed via this flaw may be reused.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-20269

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the fixed software releases identified in the Cisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-pi-epnm-TET4GxBX.
Restrict network access to the EPNM and Prime Infrastructure management interfaces to trusted administrative networks only.
Audit local and integrated accounts on affected appliances, remove unused low-privilege accounts, and rotate credentials that may have been exposed.
Rotate credentials for network devices managed by the appliance if compromise cannot be ruled out.

Patch Information

Cisco has published fixed releases and remediation guidance in the Cisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-pi-epnm-TET4GxBX and the associated Cisco ERP Alert #66682. Administrators should identify their installed EPNM or Prime Infrastructure version, confirm the target fixed release from the advisory, and schedule an upgrade. Cisco Prime Infrastructure 3.10.6 with Security Update 01 is listed among the affected products, so operators on that train should validate whether an updated maintenance release is available.

Workarounds

Limit the source addresses permitted to reach the management interface using network access control lists or a jump host.
Enforce least privilege on management accounts and remove read access to file-retrieval features for roles that do not require it.
Where feasible, place the management interface behind a reverse proxy or web application firewall that rejects requests containing suspicious path components until the patch is applied.

bash

# Example ACL restricting management-interface access to an admin subnet
# Apply on the upstream firewall or router in front of EPNM / Prime Infrastructure
access-list MGMT_ACCESS permit tcp 10.10.50.0 0.0.0.255 host <EPNM_IP> eq 443
access-list MGMT_ACCESS deny   tcp any host <EPNM_IP> eq 443 log
access-list MGMT_ACCESS permit ip any any