CVE-2025-20184

CVE-2025-20184 is a command injection vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Secure Email Gateway and Cisco Secure Web Appliance. The issue stems from insufficient validation of XML configuration files, which allows an authenticated, remote attacker with valid administrator credentials to upload a crafted XML file and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges. It is rated with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N) and is associated with CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) and CWE-77 (Command Injection).

An attacker must first obtain valid administrator credentials to access the web management interface remotely over the network. Once authenticated, they can exploit the vulnerability by uploading a specially crafted XML configuration file, leading to command injection on the device. Successful exploitation grants root-level execution on the operating system, enabling high-impact confidentiality and integrity violations, such as data exfiltration or system modification, though availability is not directly affected.

The Cisco Security Advisory at https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-esa-sma-wsa-multi-yKUJhS34 provides details on affected versions, patch availability, and recommended mitigations for this vulnerability. Security practitioners should consult the advisory for precise upgrade paths and workarounds to address the issue.