8.6
HIGH
CVE-2025-20115
Cisco IOS XR BGP Confederation Denial of Service Vulnerability
Description

A vulnerability in confederation implementation for the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) in Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to a memory corruption that occurs when a BGP update is created with an AS_CONFED_SEQUENCE attribute that has 255 autonomous system numbers (AS numbers). An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted BGP update message, or the network could be designed in such a manner that the AS_CONFED_SEQUENCE attribute grows to 255 AS numbers or more. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause memory corruption, which may cause the BGP process to restart, resulting in a DoS condition. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must control a BGP confederation speaker within the same autonomous system as the victim, or the network must be designed in such a manner that the AS_CONFED_SEQUENCE attribute grows to 255 AS numbers or more.

INFO

Published Date :

March 12, 2025, 4:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

March 12, 2025, 4:15 p.m.

Remotely Exploitable :

Yes !

Impact Score :

4.0

Exploitability Score :

3.9
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2025-20115 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Cisco ios_xr
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2025-20115.

URL Resource
https://blog.apnic.net/2024/09/02/crafting-endless-as-paths-in-bgp/
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxr-bgp-dos-O7stePhX

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2025-20115 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2025-20115 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Mar. 12, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description A vulnerability in confederation implementation for the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) in Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to a memory corruption that occurs when a BGP update is created with an AS_CONFED_SEQUENCE attribute that has 255 autonomous system numbers (AS numbers). An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted BGP update message, or the network could be designed in such a manner that the AS_CONFED_SEQUENCE attribute grows to 255 AS numbers or more. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause memory corruption, which may cause the BGP process to restart, resulting in a DoS condition. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must control a BGP confederation speaker within the same autonomous system as the victim, or the network must be designed in such a manner that the AS_CONFED_SEQUENCE attribute grows to 255 AS numbers or more.
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-120
    Added Reference https://blog.apnic.net/2024/09/02/crafting-endless-as-paths-in-bgp/
    Added Reference https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxr-bgp-dos-O7stePhX
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2025-20115 is associated with the following CWEs:

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability