Cisco IOx DOSe via malformed HTTP requests
CVE-2025-20196 Published on May 7, 2025

A vulnerability in the Cisco IOx application hosting environment of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the Cisco IOx application hosting environment to stop responding, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to the improper handling of HTTP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Cisco IOx application hosting environment to stop responding. The IOx process will need to be manually restarted to recover services.

NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2025-20196 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a small impact on availability.

Attack Vector:
NETWORK
Attack Complexity:
LOW
Privileges Required:
NONE
User Interaction:
NONE
Scope:
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
NONE
Integrity Impact:
NONE
Availability Impact:
LOW

Weakness Type

Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts

The software does not implement sufficient measures to prevent multiple failed authentication attempts within in a short time frame, making it more susceptible to brute force attacks.


Products Associated with CVE-2025-20196

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Cisco IOS XE
 

Affected Versions

Cisco IOS: Cisco IOS XE Software:

Exploit Probability

EPSS
0.26%
Percentile
48.72%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.