Executive Summary

On December 19, 2025, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) disclosed CVE-2025-37164, a critical unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in its HPE OneView infrastructure management platform. The vulnerability has been assigned the highest possible CVSS score of 10.0, reflecting its extreme severity. It allows a remote attacker with network access to the OneView appliance to execute arbitrary code without needing any authentication. A successful exploit would grant the attacker complete control over the OneView system, which in turn provides centralized management over servers, storage, and networking infrastructure. This effectively gives an attacker the 'keys to the kingdom,' enabling widespread lateral movement and data compromise. Due to its severity and the high likelihood of exploitation, CISA added CVE-2025-37164 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, requiring federal agencies to patch by December 26, 2025. HPE has released version 11.0 and emergency hotfixes to address the flaw.

Vulnerability Details

The vulnerability, CVE-2025-37164, is an unauthenticated remote code execution flaw in the HPE OneView management appliance. The specific technical root cause has not been publicly detailed by HPE, but its 10.0 CVSS score indicates an attack vector that is low in complexity, requires no user interaction, and results in a complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: None
• User Interaction: None

The flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker who can reach the OneView appliance's management interface over the network to execute code with the privileges of the appliance itself. Since HPE OneView is a centralized management console, this level of access is catastrophic. The appliance holds credentials and has API access to manage a vast array of datacenter components, including servers (e.g., HPE ProLiant), storage arrays, and network fabrics.

Affected Systems

The vulnerability impacts a wide range of HPE OneView and HPE Synergy Composer versions:

• HPE OneView: Versions 5.20 through 10.20
• HPE Synergy Composer: Versions 5.20 through 8.70

These products are used in enterprise data centers for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and hybrid cloud management. Organizations using these versions for centralized infrastructure lifecycle management are at high risk.

Exploitation Status

As of the disclosure, HPE has not reported active exploitation in the wild. However, the publication of the vulnerability and its perfect 10.0 CVSS score make it an extremely attractive target for threat actors. Security firm Rapid7 noted the high value of the target, as compromising OneView provides a single point of control over an entire IT environment. The addition to the CISA KEV Catalog, while not necessarily proof of active exploitation, indicates that CISA has intelligence suggesting a high risk or imminent threat of exploitation.

Impact Assessment

A successful exploit of CVE-2025-37164 would have a devastating business impact. An attacker could:

• Deploy Ransomware: Encrypt entire fleets of servers and storage systems managed by OneView.
• Data Exfiltration: Access and steal sensitive data from any system connected to OneView.
• Sabotage Operations: Shut down, wipe, or reconfigure critical infrastructure, causing widespread and prolonged outages.
• Establish Persistence: Use the compromised OneView appliance as a persistent, high-privilege beachhead within the network for further attacks.
• Supply Chain Attack: If the environment is used to manage systems for customers, the attacker could extend their reach to downstream organizations.

Given that OneView is typically a trusted internal system, its compromise would bypass many perimeter and endpoint security controls.

Cyber Observables for Detection

Security teams should hunt for anomalous activity related to their HPE OneView appliances. These are not confirmed IOCs but expert-generated indicators for threat hunting.

Detection & Response

D3FEND Reference: D3-NTA: Network Traffic Analysis, D3-PLA: Platform-level Auditing

1. Network Monitoring: Implement strict firewall rules to ensure the HPE OneView appliance is only accessible from a dedicated management VLAN and a small set of authorized IP addresses (jump servers). Monitor all traffic to and from the OneView appliance IP for connections from unusual sources or to unusual destinations.
2. Log Analysis: Ingest HPE OneView audit logs into a SIEM. Create alerts for:
   • Any access from IP addresses outside of the defined management network.
   • Configuration changes or user management activity occurring outside of normal business hours or change windows.
   • Multiple failed login attempts followed by a success from a new IP address.
3. Endpoint Detection (on appliance): If possible, monitor the OneView appliance for anomalous process creation. Look for shell commands being executed by web server processes or other core application services. This can be a strong indicator of RCE.
4. Threat Hunting: Proactively hunt for signs of compromise by reviewing historical logs for any access patterns that match the detection rules above, especially preceding the patch deployment.

Mitigation

D3FEND Reference: D3-SU: Software Update, D3-NI: Network Isolation

1. Immediate Patching (Priority 1): The primary mitigation is to upgrade to a fixed version as soon as possible.
   • Upgrade HPE OneView to version 11.0 or later.
   • If an immediate upgrade is not possible, apply the emergency hotfix provided by HPE for your specific version.

     Warning: HPE notes that the hotfix must be reapplied after certain system operations. Refer to the HPE advisory for full details.

2. Network Segmentation (Compensating Control): Restrict all network access to the HPE OneView management interface. It should not be exposed to the internet or general corporate networks. Place the appliance in a secure, isolated management enclave, with access strictly controlled via jump servers or bastion hosts.
3. Credential Rotation (Post-Patch): Although there is no evidence of exploitation, as a precautionary measure, consider rotating all credentials stored within or managed by HPE OneView after patching, as the window of exposure is unknown.
4. Backup and Recovery: Ensure you have recent, offline backups of your OneView configuration and the managed systems to facilitate recovery in a worst-case scenario.