A vulnerability in the HTTP API subsystem of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow a remote attacker to inject commands that will execute with root privileges into the underlying operating system.

This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker with administrative privileges could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to an affected system and performing an API call with crafted input. Alternatively, an unauthenticated attacker could persuade a legitimate user with administrative privileges who is currently logged in to the system to click a crafted link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as the root user.

References

• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20334
• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ios-xe-cmd-inject-rPJM8BGL