{
  "crds_version": "0.1",
  "kind": "base",
  "id": "crds:cve-2025-20281",
  "revision": 1,
  "title": "Cisco Identity Services Engine — injection (CVE-2025-20281)",
  "summary": "A programming interface in Cisco's Identity Services Engine (ISE) and its passive identity connector does not validate input, so an attacker with no credentials runs code as root. Exploit code is public and exploitation is near certain.",
  "source_type": "cve",
  "severity": "critical",
  "cvss": {
    "score": 10,
    "vector": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H",
    "version": "3.1"
  },
  "epss": 0.9723,
  "exploitation": {
    "known_exploited": true,
    "exploit_available": true,
    "attack_complexity": "low",
    "kev_added": "2025-07-28",
    "prerequisites": "Network access to the affected interface; no credentials needed."
  },
  "remediation": {
    "patch_available": true
  },
  "kill_chain": "initial_access",
  "recommended_action": "Apply Cisco advisory cisco-sa-ise-unauth-rce-ZAd2GnJ6 now; exploit code is public, so treat an exposed deployment as compromised and reissue its certificates.",
  "confidence": "high",
  "provenance": [
    {
      "fields": [
        "cvss",
        "exploitation.attack_complexity",
        "exploitation.exploit_available",
        "references",
        "published_at"
      ],
      "source": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20281",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-24T08:51:39.744Z",
      "confidence": "high",
      "extractor": "scrty-crds-pipeline/0.1"
    },
    {
      "fields": [
        "exploitation.known_exploited",
        "exploitation.kev_added"
      ],
      "source": "https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-24T08:51:39.744Z",
      "confidence": "high",
      "extractor": "scrty-crds-pipeline/0.1"
    },
    {
      "fields": [
        "epss"
      ],
      "source": "https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2025-20281",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-24T08:51:39.744Z",
      "confidence": "high",
      "extractor": "scrty-crds-pipeline/0.1"
    },
    {
      "fields": [
        "title",
        "summary",
        "severity",
        "remediation",
        "mitre_attack",
        "kill_chain",
        "recommended_action",
        "confidence",
        "tags",
        "exploitation.prerequisites"
      ],
      "source": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20281",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-24T08:51:39.744Z",
      "confidence": "high",
      "extractor": "claude-code"
    }
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "cve",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20281",
      "label": "NVD record"
    },
    {
      "type": "cisa",
      "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog",
      "label": "CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog"
    },
    {
      "type": "vendor_advisory",
      "url": "https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-unauth-rce-ZAd2GnJ6"
    },
    {
      "type": "exploit",
      "url": "https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/blog/2025/7/24/cve-2025-20281-cisco-ise-api-unauthenticated-remote-code-execution-vulnerability"
    }
  ],
  "published_at": "2025-06-25T16:15:26.017Z",
  "issued_at": "2026-09-24T08:51:39.744Z",
  "tags": [
    "cisco",
    "identity-services-engine",
    "network-access-control",
    "code-injection",
    "kev"
  ]
}