Multiple vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with level-15 privileges or an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to an affected device to execute persistent code at boot time and break the chain of trust. These vulnerabilities are due improper validation of software packages. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by placing a crafted file into a specific location on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute persistent code on the underlying operating system. Because these vulnerabilities allow an attacker to bypass a major security feature of a device, Cisco has raised the Security Impact Rating (SIR) of this advisory from Medium to High. Cisco has released software updates that address these vulnerabilities. There are no workarounds that address these vulnerabilities. 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 ["https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/viewErp.x?alertId=ERP-75296"].

Affected: Cisco IOS XE Software

Multiple vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS XE Software of could allow an authenticated, local attacker with level-15 privileges or an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the device to execute persistent code at boot time and break the chain of trust. These vulnerabilities are due path traversal and improper image integrity validation. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute persistent code on the underlying operating system. Because this allows the attacker to bypass a major security feature of the device, Cisco has raised the Security Impact Rating (SIR) of this advisory from Medium to High. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details ["#details"] section of this advisory. ERP