Cisco IOS XR 7.9.2 allocation of resources

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Cisco IOS XR 7.9.2 and classified as critical. This affects an unknown part. Such manipulation leads to allocation of resources. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2025-20141. The attack requires being on the local network. There is not any exploit available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Cisco IOS XR 7.9.2. Affected by this issue is an unknown code. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a allocation of resources vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-770. The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated, in violation of the intended security policy for that actor. Impacted is availability. CVE summarizes:

A vulnerability in the handling of specific packets that are punted from a line card to a route processor in Cisco IOS XR Software Release 7.9.2 could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause control plane traffic to stop working on multiple Cisco IOS XR platforms.  This vulnerability is due to incorrect handling of packets that are punted to the route processor. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending traffic, which must be handled by the Linux stack on the route processor, to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause control plane traffic to stop working, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition.

The advisory is shared for download at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2025-20141 since 10/10/2024. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack needs to be initiated within the local network. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 234055 (Cisco IOS XR Software Release 7.9.2 DoS (cisco-sa-xr792-bWfVDPY)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (234055). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

Type

• Router Operating System

Vendor

• Cisco

Name

• IOS XR

Version

• 7.9.2

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.cisco.com/

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VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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