CVE-2025-20170
Published: 05 February 2025
Summary
CVE-2025-20170 is a high-severity Buffer Access with Incorrect Length Value (CWE-805) vulnerability in Cisco Ios. Its CVSS base score is 7.7 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked in the top 32.5% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-11 (Error Handling).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Flaw remediation directly mitigates the SNMP parsing vulnerability by requiring timely application of Cisco patches to fix improper error handling.
Error handling control addresses the core issue of improper error management in SNMP request parsing, preventing device reloads from crafted inputs.
Information input validation ensures SNMP requests are checked for validity, blocking crafted packets that exploit the parsing flaw.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Direct exploitation of SNMP parsing flaw via crafted authenticated request to trigger device reload/crash, matching Application or System Exploitation sub-technique for Endpoint DoS.
NVD Description
A vulnerability in the SNMP subsystem of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a DoS condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper error handling when parsing…
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SNMP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted SNMP request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition. This vulnerability affects SNMP versions 1, 2c, and 3. To exploit this vulnerability through SNMP v2c or earlier, the attacker must know a valid read-write or read-only SNMP community string for the affected system. To exploit this vulnerability through SNMP v3, the attacker must have valid SNMP user credentials for the affected system.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2025-20170 is a vulnerability in the SNMP subsystem of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software that stems from improper error handling during the parsing of SNMP requests. This flaw affects SNMP versions 1, 2c, and 3, enabling an authenticated, remote attacker to trigger a denial-of-service (DoS) condition by sending a crafted SNMP request to an affected device. Successful exploitation results in the device reloading unexpectedly. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.7 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H) and is associated with CWE-805.
An attacker requires some level of authentication to exploit this vulnerability. For SNMP v2c or earlier versions, the attacker must possess a valid read-write or read-only SNMP community string for the target system. For SNMP v3, valid SNMP user credentials are necessary. Once authenticated, the attacker can send a specially crafted SNMP request over the network, causing the device to crash and reload, thereby disrupting network services and availability.
For mitigation details, including available patches and workarounds, refer to the Cisco Security Advisory at https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-snmp-dos-sdxnSUcW, published on 2025-02-05.
Details
- CWE(s)