SNMP Vulnerability in Cisco IOS, IOS XE, and IOS XR Software

CVE-2025-20172

What is CVE-2025-20172?

This vulnerability exists within the SNMP subsystem across multiple Cisco software platforms, namely Cisco IOS, IOS XE, and IOS XR. It arises from improper error handling during the parsing of SNMP requests, enabling an authenticated, remote attacker to potentially exploit the flaw. By sending a specially crafted SNMP request, attackers can either cause devices running IOS or IOS XE to unexpectedly reload, leading to downtime, or disrupt the SNMP process on devices running IOS XR, thereby interrupting SNMP responses. Exploitation requires knowledge of the valid SNMP community string for SNMP v2c or earlier versions, or valid SNMP user credentials for SNMP v3.

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