Vulnerability Database

328,409

Total vulnerabilities in the database

CVE-2025-20181

A vulnerability in Cisco IOS Software for Cisco Catalyst 2960X, 2960XR, 2960CX, and 3560CX Series Switches could allow an authenticated, local attacker with privilege level 15 or an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the device to execute persistent code at boot time and break the chain of trust.

This vulnerability is due to missing signature verification for specific files that may be loaded during the device boot process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by placing a crafted file into a specific location on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code at boot time.

Because this allows the attacker to bypass a major security feature of the device, Cisco has raised the Security Impact Rating (SIR) of this advisory from Medium to High.

No technical information available.

CWEs:

Software From Fixed in
cisco / ios 15.0(1)ex 15.0(1)ex.x
cisco / ios 15.0(1)ey 15.0(1)ey.x
cisco / ios 15.0(1)ey1 15.0(1)ey1.x
cisco / ios 15.0(1)ey2 15.0(1)ey2.x
cisco / ios 15.0(1)xo 15.0(1)xo.x
cisco / ios 15.0(1)xo1 15.0(1)xo1.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex 15.0(2)ex.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex1 15.0(2)ex1.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex2 15.0(2)ex2.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex3 15.0(2)ex3.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex4 15.0(2)ex4.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex5 15.0(2)ex5.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex8 15.0(2)ex8.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex10 15.0(2)ex10.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex11 15.0(2)ex11.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex12 15.0(2)ex12.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)ex13 15.0(2)ex13.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)se8 15.0(2)se8.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)sqd 15.0(2)sqd.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)sqd1 15.0(2)sqd1.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)sqd2 15.0(2)sqd2.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)sqd3 15.0(2)sqd3.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)sqd4 15.0(2)sqd4.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)sqd5 15.0(2)sqd5.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)sqd6 15.0(2)sqd6.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)sqd7 15.0(2)sqd7.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)sqd8 15.0(2)sqd8.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2)xo 15.0(2)xo.x
cisco / ios 15.0(2a)ex5 15.0(2a)ex5.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e 15.2(2)e.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e1 15.2(2)e1.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e2 15.2(2)e2.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e3 15.2(2)e3.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e4 15.2(2)e4.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e5 15.2(2)e5.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e5a 15.2(2)e5a.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e5b 15.2(2)e5b.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e6 15.2(2)e6.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e7 15.2(2)e7.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e8 15.2(2)e8.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e9 15.2(2)e9.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2)e10 15.2(2)e10.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2a)e1 15.2(2a)e1.x
cisco / ios 15.2(2a)e2 15.2(2a)e2.x
cisco / ios 15.2(3)e 15.2(3)e.x
cisco / ios 15.2(3)e1 15.2(3)e1.x
cisco / ios 15.2(3)e2 15.2(3)e2.x
cisco / ios 15.2(3)e3 15.2(3)e3.x
cisco / ios 15.2(3)e4 15.2(3)e4.x
cisco / ios 15.2(3a)e 15.2(3a)e.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e 15.2(4)e.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e1 15.2(4)e1.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e2 15.2(4)e2.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e3 15.2(4)e3.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e4 15.2(4)e4.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e5 15.2(4)e5.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e6 15.2(4)e6.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e7 15.2(4)e7.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e8 15.2(4)e8.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e9 15.2(4)e9.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e10 15.2(4)e10.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e10a 15.2(4)e10a.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)e10d 15.2(4)e10d.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)ea7 15.2(4)ea7.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)ea8 15.2(4)ea8.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)ea9 15.2(4)ea9.x
cisco / ios 15.2(4)ea9a 15.2(4)ea9a.x
cisco / ios 15.2(5)e 15.2(5)e.x
cisco / ios 15.2(5)e1 15.2(5)e1.x
cisco / ios 15.2(5)e2 15.2(5)e2.x
cisco / ios 15.2(5b)e 15.2(5b)e.x
cisco / ios 15.2(6)e 15.2(6)e.x
cisco / ios 15.2(6)e0a 15.2(6)e0a.x
cisco / ios 15.2(6)e0c 15.2(6)e0c.x
cisco / ios 15.2(6)e1 15.2(6)e1.x
cisco / ios 15.2(6)e2 15.2(6)e2.x
cisco / ios 15.2(6)e2a 15.2(6)e2a.x
cisco / ios 15.2(6)e2b 15.2(6)e2b.x
cisco / ios 15.2(6)e3 15.2(6)e3.x
cisco / ios 15.2(6)eb 15.2(6)eb.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e 15.2(7)e.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e0a 15.2(7)e0a.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e0b 15.2(7)e0b.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e0s 15.2(7)e0s.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e1 15.2(7)e1.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e1a 15.2(7)e1a.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e2 15.2(7)e2.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e2a 15.2(7)e2a.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e3 15.2(7)e3.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e3k 15.2(7)e3k.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e4 15.2(7)e4.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e5 15.2(7)e5.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e6 15.2(7)e6.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e7 15.2(7)e7.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e8 15.2(7)e8.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e9 15.2(7)e9.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7)e10 15.2(7)e10.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7a)e0b 15.2(7a)e0b.x
cisco / ios 15.2(7b)e0b 15.2(7b)e0b.x
cisco / ios 15.2(8)e 15.2(8)e.x
cisco / ios 15.2(8)e1 15.2(8)e1.x
cisco / ios 15.2(8)e2 15.2(8)e2.x
cisco / ios 15.2(8)e3 15.2(8)e3.x
cisco / ios 15.2(8)e4 15.2(8)e4.x
cisco / ios 15.2(8)e5 15.2(8)e5.x
cisco / ios 15.2(8)e6 15.2(8)e6.x

Frequently Asked Questions

A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.

Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.

Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.