Summary

• A vulnerability in the Web Authentication feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a reflected cross-site scripting attack (XSS) on an affected device.

  This vulnerability is due to improper sanitization of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user to click a malicious link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute a reflected XSS attack and steal user cookies from the affected device.

  Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

  This advisory is available at the following link:
  https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-webui-xss-VWyDgjOU

  This advisory is part of the September 2025 release of the Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication. For a complete list of the advisories and links to them, see Cisco Event Response: September 2025 Semiannual Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication.

Affected Products

• Vulnerable Products

  At the time of publication, this vulnerability affected Cisco IOS XE Software if HTTP or HTTPS is enabled and the Web Authentication feature is enabled.

  For information about which Cisco software releases are vulnerable, see the Fixed Software section of this advisory.

  Determine the HTTP Server Configuration

  To determine whether the HTTP Server feature is enabled for a device, log in to the device and use the show running-config | include ip http server|secure|active command in the CLI to check for the presence of the ip http server command or the ip http secure-server command in the global configuration. If either command is present, the HTTP Server feature is enabled for the device.

  The following example shows the output of the show running-config | include ip http server|secure|active command for a device that has the HTTP Server feature enabled:

  Switch# show running-config | include ip http server|secure|active
  ip http server
  ip http secure-server

  Note: The presence of either command or both commands in the device configuration indicates that the web-based management interface feature is enabled.

  If the ip http server command is present and the configuration also contains ip http active-session-modules none, the vulnerability is not exploitable over HTTP.

  If the ip http secure-server command is present and the configuration also contains ip http secure-active-session-modules none, the vulnerability is not exploitable over HTTPS.

  Determine the Web Authentication Configuration for Switches

  To determine whether the Web Authentication feature is enabled for a device in legacy mode, log in to the device and use the show running-config | include proxy http command in the CLI to check for the presence of the proxy http command. If the command is present, the Web Authentication feature is enabled for the device, as shown in the following example:

  Switch# show running-config | include proxy http 
  ip admission proxy http success redirect http://www.cisco.com
  ip admission name webauth1 proxy http

  To determine whether the Web Authentication feature is enabled for a device in cEdge mode, log in to the device and use the show running-config | section parameter-map command in the CLI to check for the presence of the parameter-map type webauth. If the parameter-map type webauth is present, the Web Authentication feature is enabled for the device, as shown in the following example:

  Switch# show running-config | section parameter-map 
  parameter-map type webauth webauthtest
  policy-map type control subscriber WEB_POL
     10 authenticate using webauth webauthtest

  Determine the Web Authentication Configuration for Wireless Devices

  To determine whether the Web Authentication feature is enabled for a device, log in to the device and use the show running-config | include parameter-map command in the CLI to check for the presence of the parameter-map type webauth. If the parameter-map type webauth is present, the Web Authentication feature is enabled for the device, as shown in the following example:

  WLC# show running-config | include parameter-map
  parameter-map type webauth global
  parameter-map type webauth webauthtest
  security web-auth parameter-map webauthtest

  
  

  Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable

  Only products listed in the Vulnerable Products section of this advisory are known to be affected by this vulnerability.

  Cisco has confirmed that this vulnerability does not affect the following Cisco products:

  • IOS Software
  • IOS XR Software
  • NX-OS Software

Workarounds

• There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

  Disabling the HTTP Server feature eliminates the attack vector for these vulnerabilities and may be a suitable mitigation until affected devices can be upgraded. To disable the HTTP Server feature, use the no ip http server or no ip http secure-server command in global configuration mode. If both the HTTP server and HTTPS server are in use, both commands are required to disable the HTTP Server feature.

  Note: Disabling the HTTP/HTTPS server could impact other device functionality, such as the Web Management Interface, as well as the Web Authentication feature, which could impact client logins that are dependent on this feature.

  While this mitigation has been deployed and was proven successful in a test environment, customers should determine the applicability and effectiveness in their own environment and under their own use conditions. Customers should be aware that any workaround or mitigation that is implemented may negatively impact the functionality or performance of their network based on intrinsic customer deployment scenarios and limitations. Customers should not deploy any workarounds or mitigations before first evaluating the applicability to their own environment and any impact to such environment.

Fixed Software

• Cisco considers any workarounds and mitigations to be temporary solutions until an upgrade to a fixed software release is available. To fully remediate this vulnerability and avoid future exposure as described in this advisory, Cisco strongly recommends that customers upgrade to the fixed software indicated in this advisory.

  Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software

  To help customers determine their exposure to vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software, Cisco provides the Cisco Software Checker. This tool identifies any Cisco security advisories that impact a specific software release and the earliest release that fixes the vulnerabilities that are described in each advisory (“First Fixed”). If applicable, the tool also returns the earliest release that fixes all the vulnerabilities that are described in all the advisories that the Software Checker identifies (“Combined First Fixed”).

  To use the tool, go to the Cisco Software Checker page and follow the instructions. Alternatively, use the following form to determine whether a release is affected by any Cisco Security Advisory. To use the form, follow these steps:

  1. Choose which advisories the tool will search-only this advisory, only advisories with a Critical or High Security Impact Rating (SIR), or all advisories.
  2. Enter a release number-for example, 15.9(3)M2 or 17.3.3.
  3. Click Check.

  
  

  Only this advisory All Critical and High advisories All advisories

Exploitation and Public Announcements

• The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) is aware that proof-of-concept exploit code is available for the vulnerability described in this advisory.

  The Cisco PSIRT is not aware of any malicious use of the vulnerability that is described in this advisory.

Source

• Cisco would like to thank Aswin M Guptha and Abhinand N of Traboda CyberLabs for reporting this vulnerability.

URL

• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-webui-xss-VWyDgjOU

Revision History

• Version	Description	Section	Status	Date
  1.1	Updated the title and summary to be more descriptive. Added configuration examples. Updated workarounds.	Title, Summary, Vulnerable Products, Workarounds.	Final	2025-SEP-26
  1.0	Initial public release.	-	Final	2025-SEP-24

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