#VU103670 Execution with unnecessary privileges in Cisco Systems, Inc products - CVE-2025-20185

Vulnerability identifier: #VU103670

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 6.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2025-20185

CWE-ID: CWE-250

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Cisco AsyncOS for Secure Email Gateway
Operating systems & Components / Operating system
Cisco AsyncOS for Secure Web Appliance
Operating systems & Components / Operating system
Cisco AsyncOS for Secure Email and Web Manager
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Cisco Systems, Inc

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to an architectural flaw in the password generation algorithm for the remote access functionality. A local user can generate a temporary password for the service account and execute arbitrary code on the system with root privileges.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Cisco AsyncOS for Secure Email Gateway: 15.0 - 16.0

Cisco AsyncOS for Secure Web Appliance: 15.1 - 15.2

Cisco AsyncOS for Secure Email and Web Manager: 15.0 - 16.0

---

External links
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-esa-sma-wsa-multi-yKUJhS34

---

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.