High severity · published May 7, 2025
CVE-2025-20189
A vulnerability in the Cisco Express Forwarding functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco ASR 903 Aggregation Services Routers with Route Switch Processor 3 (RSP3C) could…
7.4
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
A vulnerability in the Cisco Express Forwarding functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco ASR 903 Aggregation Services Routers with Route Switch Processor 3 (RSP3C) could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to trigger a denial of service (DoS) condition.
This vulnerability is due to improper memory management when Cisco IOS XE Software is processing Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) messages. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted ARP messages at a high rate over a period of time to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust system resources, which eventually triggers a reload of the active route switch processor (RSP). If a redundant RSP is not present, the router reloads.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Attack vector
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Scope
Changed
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 16% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
IX
IOS XE · Cisco
3.16.0cs; 3.16.0s; 3.16.1as; 3.16.1s; 3.16.2as; 3.16.2bs; +34 more · source: NVD
CI
Cisco IOS XE Software · Cisco
3.16.0S; 3.16.1S; 3.16.1aS; 3.16.2S; 3.16.2aS; 3.16.0cS; +34 more · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20189
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-20189
Vendor Advisory
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asr903-rsp3-arp-dos-WmfzdvJZ
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