# CVE-2025-20188: Cisco Cisco IOS XE Software

- Exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2025-05-07
- CVSS: 10 CRITICAL (v3.1)
- EPSS: 27.5% (98th percentile)
- CWE: CWE-798

A vulnerability in the Out-of-Band Access Point (AP) Image Download, the Clean Air Spectral Recording, and the client debug bundles features 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 file upload interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to upload files, perform path traversal, and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges.

## Edge WAF coverage (claimed by vendors, not measured)

| Vendor | Status | First rule | Days after publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Blocks by default | 2025-06-16 | 40 |
| AWS | No public claim | — | — |
| Microsoft Azure | No public claim | — | — |
| Google Cloud | No public claim | — | — |
| Fastly | Before feed history | — | — |
| F5 | Rule published | 2025-08-15 | 100 |
| Akamai | No public source | — | — |
| OWASP CRS | No public claim | — | — |

### Cloudflare

- 2025-06-16 · new · rule 233bcf0ce50f400989a7e44a35fefd53 · default Block
  > Cisco IOS XE - Remote Code Execution - CVE:CVE-2025-20188. Previous action: Log. New action: Block. This is a New Detection
  Source: https://developers.cloudflare.com/changelog/post/2025-06-16-waf-release/

### F5

- 2025-08-15 · new · rule 200007097
  > Added: signature 200007097 "Cisco IOS XE WLC Arbitrary File Upload (1)" (Path Traversal, risk High), systems: Cisco. References: CVE-2025-20188.
  Source: https://docs.cloud.f5.com/docs-v2/platform/changelogs/security-details-changelog
- 2025-08-15 · new · rule 200007098
  > Added: signature 200007098 "Cisco IOS XE WLC Arbitrary File Upload (2)" (Path Traversal, risk High), systems: Cisco. References: CVE-2025-20188.
  Source: https://docs.cloud.f5.com/docs-v2/platform/changelogs/security-details-changelog

## Our test (measured)

- OWASP Core Rule Set 4.25.0, paranoia level 1, anomaly threshold 5, default CRS settings: partial (2 of 3 requests blocked), template CVE-2025-20188, 2026-11-02
- OWASP Core Rule Set 4.25.0, paranoia level 2, anomaly threshold 5, default CRS settings: partial (2 of 3 requests blocked), template CVE-2025-20188, 2026-11-02

"No public claim" means no vendor statement names this CVE; "Before feed history" means the CVE is older than the vendor feed. In both cases generic rules may still block it.

HTML: https://cve.vigilbase.com/cve/CVE-2025-20188 · JSON: https://cve.vigilbase.com/api/v1/cves/CVE-2025-20188