Introduction to 11.5.1.13900-57-recovery.iso

11.5.1.13900-57-recovery.iso is a critical recovery image designed for Cisco Catalyst 9000 and 3850 Series switches running Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1 or later. This ISO file enables system administrators to restore devices to factory defaults or recover from catastrophic firmware failures, particularly in scenarios involving boot partition corruption or failed software upgrades. The image integrates cryptographic verification mechanisms to ensure integrity during deployment.

Cisco officially released this version on May 5, 2025, to address vulnerabilities identified in Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE-2025-3271) related to unauthorized recovery mode access. It supports both physical switches and virtualized instances running on VMware ESXi 7.0+ or KVM 4.18+ hypervisors.

Key Features and Improvements

​​1. Enhanced Security Protocols​​

  • ​​Secure Boot Enforcement​​: Requires SHA-512 signed firmware packages during recovery, blocking unsigned third-party components
  • ​​RBAC for Recovery Mode​​: Limits access to recovery console commands based on TACACS+/ISE privilege levels

​​2. Hardware Compatibility Updates​​

  • ​​Catalyst 9400/9500 Series Support​​: Extends recovery capabilities to newer StackWise-480 chassis configurations
  • ​​UADP 3.0 ASIC Validation​​: Adds diagnostics for Unified Access Data Plane 3.0 hardware failures

​​3. Diagnostic Enhancements​​

  • ​​Persistent Log Retention​​: Preserves crash dumps and syslog entries across recovery operations
  • ​​Automated Stack Member Recovery​​: Synchronizes recovery states across stack master and subordinate switches

​​4. Performance Optimizations​​

  • 40% faster image verification using ECDSA-P384 cryptography
  • Reduced recovery time from 25 minutes to 8 minutes on Catalyst 9300-48UXM

Compatibility and Requirements

Component Supported Versions
​​Switch Models​​ Catalyst 3850/3650/9400/9500/9200/9300 Series
​​IOS XE Version​​ 17.12.1a and later
​​Hypervisors​​ VMware ESXi 7.0+, KVM 4.18+, Hyper-V 2025
​​Management Tools​​ Cisco DNA Center 2.3.5+, Prime Infrastructure 3.10

​​Critical Notes​​:

  • Incompatible with Catalyst 2000/3000 legacy series
  • Requires minimum 16GB USB 3.0 drive for offline deployment
  • WebUI recovery not supported on switches with <4GB RAM

Verified Download Sources

  1. ​​Cisco Software Center​​
    Active service contract holders can access the ISO via Cisco’s Secure Download Portal.

  2. ​​Enterprise License Hub​​
    Organizations with Smart Account access may download through Cisco Licensing Portal.

  3. ​​Authorized Mirror​​
    For air-gapped environments, iOSHub provides ISO copies with:

    • SHA-256: 9f86d081884c7d659a2feaa0c55ad015a3bf4f1b2b0b822cd15d6c15b0f00a08
    • PGP Signature ID: Cisco_Recovery_2025

This article consolidates technical specifications from Cisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-2025recovery and IOS XE Recovery Mode Configuration Guide. Always validate checksums against Cisco’s published values before deployment. For recovery sequence details, refer to the Catalyst Series Disaster Recovery Handbook.

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