Product:
Cisco IOS XR Software
Summary
A vulnerability in the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) implementation of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to trigger a broadcast storm, leading to a denial of service condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to how Cisco IOS XR Software processes a high, sustained rate of ARP traffic hitting the management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending an excessive amount of traffic to the management interface of an affected device, overwhelming its ARP processing capabilities.
Details
| Severity | Base Score | CVE |
|---|---|---|
| HIGH | 7.4 | CVE-2025-20340 |
Exploitation
To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker on the adjacent network can send a high volume of ARP traffic to the management interface of the affected device. This excessive traffic can overwhelm the device’s ARP processing capabilities, leading to degraded performance, loss of management connectivity, and potentially causing the device to become completely unresponsive.
Affected Products
- Cisco IOS XR Software: Vulnerable to ARP traffic overload, leading to potential denial of service.
Mitigation
To mitigate this vulnerability, it is recommended to implement rate limiting on ARP traffic to the management interface and monitor network traffic for unusual patterns. Additionally, ensure that devices are updated with the latest security patches provided by Cisco.