CVE-2025-20340
BaseFortify
Publication date: 2025-09-10
Last updated on: 2025-09-11
Assigner: Cisco Systems, Inc.
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| cisco | ios_xr | 25.2.1 |
| cisco | ios_xr | 7.11 |
| cisco | ios_xr | 25.1.2 |
| cisco | ios_xr | 24.2.21 |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-400 | The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability exists in the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) implementation of Cisco IOS XR Software. An unauthenticated attacker who is adjacent to the device can send a high, sustained rate of ARP traffic to the management interface, causing an ARP broadcast storm. This overwhelms the device's ARP processing capabilities, leading to degraded performance, loss of management connectivity, and potentially complete system unresponsiveness, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. [1]
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
If exploited, this vulnerability can cause a denial of service (DoS) on affected Cisco IOS XR devices by overwhelming the ARP processing on the management interface. This results in degraded device performance, loss of management connectivity, and potentially complete system unresponsiveness, which can disrupt network operations and management. [1]
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring system logs for repeated packet drops related to ARP processing, specifically taildrops on the XIPC queue owned by the ARP process. Look for log entries indicating ARP-related queue taildrops which suggest the device is overwhelmed by excessive ARP traffic on the management Ethernet interface. Specific commands are not provided in the resources. [1]
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
Immediate mitigation involves upgrading to the fixed Cisco IOS XR software releases that address this vulnerability. No workarounds or local packet transport service protections exist for this issue. Affected users should upgrade to fixed releases starting from versions 24.2.21, 25.1.2, or 25.2.1 depending on their current version. Contact Cisco TAC for fixed software if you do not have a service contract. [1]