CVE-2025-20161: Cisco NX-OS Software

Medium severity, CVSS 5.1. EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

A vulnerability in the software upgrade process of Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode could allow an authenticated, local attacker with valid Administrator credentials to execute a command injection attack on the underlying operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of specific elements within a software image. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by installing a crafted image. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges.  Note: Administrators should validate the hash of any software image before installation.

Affected products

• Cisco Cisco NX-OS Software: version 9.2(3) only; version 7.0(3)I5(2) only; version 6.0(2)A8(7a) only; version 7.0(3)I4(5) only; version 7.0(3)I4(6) only; version 7.0(3)I4(3) only; …

Published 2025-02-26. Last modified 2026-06-17.