Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Arbitrary File Creation Vulnerability

TL;DR 📌

Cisco published a security advisory. See the Fixed software table below for the version you should upgrade to.

What happened 🕵️‍♂️

A vulnerability in the application data endpoints of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly Cisco SD-WAN vManage, could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to write arbitrary files to an affected system.

This vulnerability is due to improper validation of requests to APIs. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious requests to an API within the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to conduct directory traversal attacks and write files to an arbitrary location on the affected system.

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

Affected products 🖥️

At the time of publication, this vulnerability affected Cisco SD-WAN Manager, regardless of device configuration.

For information about which Cisco software releases were vulnerable at the time of publication, see the Fixed Software ["#fs"] section of this advisory. See the Details section in the bug ID(s) at the top of this advisory for the most complete and current information.

Fixed software 🔧

Upgrade to the first fixed release in your train (or later):

Workarounds 🧯

There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

Risk in context 🎯

Use vendor CVSS for prioritization. Consider exposure and asset criticality.

Fast facts ⚡

• Advisory: cisco-sa-sdwanarbfile-2zKhKZwJ
• Initial release: 2025-05-07T16:00:00 UTC
• Last updated: 2025-05-14T20:04:53 UTC

For leadership 🧭

Executive summary. Risk is Medium (CVSS 6.5) for Cisco, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager. Vendor fixes are available; prioritize upgrade within 30 days based on environment risk.

Why it matters (exposure drivers):

• Potential service impact and security exposure depend on deployment topology and access paths.
• Treat internet-exposed or multi-tenant management nodes as higher risk.
• Ensure monitoring for abnormal auth/config events until upgrades complete.

Remediation & timing:

• Upgrade to the first fixed release per the table above; schedule an approved change window within 30 days.
• Change risk: low-to-moderate (standard vendor patch). Validate backups and rollback plan.

Now / Next / Later:

• Now: Confirm exposure, identify affected versions, and enable monitoring/alerts.
• Next: Patch according to the fixed software table; verify service health post-change.
• Later: Add control checks to build pipeline/CMDB to block drift to vulnerable trains.