CVE-2025-20188 Details
A vulnerability in the Out-of-Band Access Point (AP) Image Download feature of Cisco IOS XE Software for Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to upload arbitrary files to an affected system.

This vulnerability is due to the presence of a hard-coded JSON Web Token (JWT) on an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTPS requests to the AP image download interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to upload files, perform path traversal, and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges.

Note: For exploitation to be successful, the Out-of-Band AP Image Download feature must be enabled on the device. It is not enabled by default.
View at NVD
Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-20188
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System): EPSS predicts the likelihood that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild. A higher percentage means a greater chance of an exploit occurring. The EPSS model produces a probability score between 0 and 1 (0 and 100%).
27.91 Probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days (98th percentile)
CVSS score for CVE-2025-20188
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System): An open framework owned and managed by FIRST.Org, Inc. that assigns a numerical score from 0 to 10 to software vulnerabilities to indicate their severity.
10 Critical
Products affected by CVE-2025-20188
IOS XE 17.12.2
IOS XE 17.12.3
IOS XE 17.11.1
DVE Score by Bitsight AI
DVE scores complement traditional static scoring systems like CVSS with Bitsight AI powered real-time threat intelligence and underground cyber criminal activity so that security teams can reduce alert fatigue and focus on vulnerabilities most likely to be exploited.
Low
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CVE-2025-20188 Global Footprint

Top 10 Identified Countries

Country Observations Percentage
KR 3 50.00%
LS 1 16.67%
NO 1 16.67%
TW 1 16.67%

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CVE-2025-20188 Industry Footprint

Top 10 Identified Industries

*Service provider organizations (typically Technology and Telecommunications) are disproportionally represented in the results given their upstream ownership of end-user infrastructure. See our FAQs.

Industry* Observations Percentage
Telecommunications 3 100.00%

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