CVE-2025-20238: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-c3ph-mf94-pp8r
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CVSS 6.0
CWE-1244
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-20238 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.0) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-1244: Internal Asset Exposed to Unsafe Debug Access Level or State) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product uses physical debug or test interfaces with support for multiple access levels, but it assigns the wrong debug access level to an internal asset, providing unintended access to the asset from untrusted debug agents.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2025-20238 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-20238
GHSA Identifier GHSA-c3ph-mf94-pp8r
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.0
CWE Classification CWE-1244: Internal Asset Exposed to Unsafe Debug Access Level or State
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.0

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2025-20238

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2025-20238, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-1244: Internal Asset Exposed to Unsafe Debug Access Level or State, where the product uses physical debug or test interfaces with support for multiple access levels, but it assigns the wrong debug access level to an internal asset, providing unintended access to the asset from untrusted debug agents. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

A vulnerability in Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root-level privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of commands that are supplied by the user. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to a device and submitting crafted input for specific commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system as root.

References

NVD — CVE-2025-20238 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20238
Software Security Information SECURITY
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asaftd-cmdinj-VEhFeZQ3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-20238?
CVE-2025-20238 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-1244: Internal Asset Exposed to Unsafe Debug Access Level or State.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2025-20238?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-20238?
CVE-2025-20238 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.0 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-20238?
CVE-2025-20238 is classified under CWE-1244: Internal Asset Exposed to Unsafe Debug Access Level or State (The product uses physical debug or test interfaces with support for multiple access levels, but it assigns the wrong debug access level to an internal asset, providing unintended access to the asset from untrusted debug agents.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2025-20238?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-c3ph-mf94-pp8r",
  "modified" : "2025-08-14T18:31:29Z",
  "published" : "2025-08-14T18:31:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-20238" ],
  "details" : "A vulnerability in Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root-level privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials.\n\n This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of commands that are supplied by the user. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to a device and submitting crafted input for specific commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system as root.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20238"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asaftd-cmdinj-VEhFeZQ3"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1244" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-08-14T17:15:37Z"
  }
}