CVE-2025-20305 Overview
Cisco disclosed an information disclosure vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE). The flaw allows an authenticated, remote attacker holding read-only Administrator privileges to view sensitive data that should remain restricted to higher-privileged users. Specifically, an attacker can retrieve passwords that are normally masked from read-only administrators by invoking actions whose results lack proper data protection. The weakness is classified under CWE-1220 (Insufficient Granularity of Access Control). Cisco published the advisory on November 5, 2025.
Critical Impact
A read-only administrator can obtain cleartext passwords and other sensitive configuration data from an affected ISE deployment, enabling lateral movement into integrated network services.
Affected Products
- Cisco Identity Services Engine 3.2 (base through Patch 7)
- Cisco Identity Services Engine 3.3 (base through Patch 7)
- Cisco Identity Services Engine 3.4 (base through Patch 3)
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-11-05 - CVE-2025-20305 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-20305
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in the web-based management interface of Cisco ISE. Certain backend files and API responses do not enforce role-aware data protection on returned fields. When a read-only Administrator performs an action that renders configuration data, the response contains password material that should be redacted or available only to full administrators.
Cisco ISE serves as a central policy and authentication service for network access, including RADIUS, TACACS+, and 802.1X workflows. Exposed credentials can include RADIUS shared secrets, TACACS keys, and integration passwords for directories or external identity stores. Attackers can reuse these secrets to impersonate network devices, decrypt captured authentication traffic, or pivot to connected systems.
Root Cause
The root cause is insufficient granularity of access control [CWE-1220]. Server-side authorization checks confirm that the caller holds an administrator role but do not further filter sensitive attributes based on whether that role is read-only or read-write. Password fields are serialized into responses without the masking logic that the UI relies on, allowing a low-privileged administrator to retrieve values through direct API inspection.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires valid credentials for a read-only Administrator account and network reachability to the ISE management interface. The attacker authenticates, then invokes an administrative action whose response contains protected password fields. No user interaction or additional privileges are required beyond the authenticated session. The impact is limited to confidentiality; integrity and availability are not affected.
No public proof-of-concept code has been released, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-20305
Indicators of Compromise
- Read-only Administrator accounts invoking API endpoints or UI functions that return configuration objects containing credential fields.
- Unexpected export, download, or configuration-view operations originating from accounts that should only perform monitoring tasks.
- Session activity from read-only admin accounts outside normal business hours or from unusual source addresses.
Detection Strategies
- Review Cisco ISE administrative audit logs for actions performed by read-only Administrator accounts that touch credential-bearing resources.
- Correlate ISE audit events with network flow logs to identify administrative sessions from unexpected subnets or jump hosts.
- Alert on repeated access to the same configuration object by a read-only account, which may indicate credential harvesting.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Forward ISE syslog and audit streams to a centralized SIEM or data lake and retain for forensic review.
- Baseline normal activity for each read-only Administrator account and alert on deviations in request volume or endpoint variety.
- Monitor for post-exploitation reuse of ISE-managed secrets, such as unexpected RADIUS or TACACS authentications from new source devices.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-20305
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade affected Cisco ISE deployments to a fixed release listed in the Cisco advisory.
- Audit all accounts holding the read-only Administrator role and remove assignments that are no longer required.
- Rotate credentials, shared secrets, and integration passwords that may have been exposed to read-only administrators prior to patching.
- Restrict network access to the ISE management interface to a dedicated administrative network segment.
Patch Information
Cisco has released fixed software for Cisco Identity Services Engine. Refer to the Cisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-ise-multiple-vulns-O9BESWJH for the specific fixed versions corresponding to the 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 trains, and apply the recommended patch for your deployment.
Workarounds
- No workarounds are documented by Cisco; apply the vendor patch as the primary remediation.
- As a compensating control, limit read-only Administrator accounts to trusted personnel and enforce multi-factor authentication on the management interface.
- Place the ISE administrative interface behind a bastion host and restrict source IP addresses using network ACLs until patching is complete.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
