CVE-2025-20188

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.

• CWE-798

• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-wlc-file-uplpd-rHZG9UfCVendor Advisory
• https://horizon3.ai/attack-research/attack-blogs/cisco-ios-xe-wlc-arbitrary-file-upload-vulnerability-cve-2025-20188-analysis/Exploit, Third Party Advisory

Published

May 7, 2025

Last Modified

Jun 17, 2026

Status

Analyzed

• How Strix found a critical auth bypass in etcdStrix autonomously discovered a critical authentication bypass in etcd, later designated CVE-2026-33413.
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