A vulnerability in the SNMP subsystem of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a DoS condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper error handling when parsing SNMP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted SNMP request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition. This vulnerability affects SNMP versions 1, 2c, and 3. To exploit this vulnerability through SNMP v2c or earlier, the attacker must know a valid read-write or read-only SNMP community string for the affected system. To exploit this vulnerability through SNMP v3, the attacker must have valid SNMP user credentials for the affected system.
Use CWE-248, Cisco vendor hub and Ios product page to widen CVE-2025-20176 into its surrounding weakness, vendor, and product context.
Compare it with CVE-2025-20352, CVE-2025-20363 and CVE-2025-20154 for nearby disclosures in the same product family. Additional editorial context is available in The Weekly Cybersecurity Brief: January 30th, 2026.