VulnerabilityPublished 16 Sep 2026

CVE-2026-20282: Cisco ISE · CWE-641

Source GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-20282· Medium 4.9

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.9 Medium.

Data as of 31 Oct 2026, 20:20 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.9Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 48% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 31 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-pfwv-v5q9-qwh6

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
CiscoCisco Identity Services Engine Software	Affected 3.1.0 – 3.5.0 5 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Since the vulnerability requires valid administrative credentials, ensure that administrative access is tightly controlled and monitored. Follow Cisco's official advisories for updates on patches or workarounds.

Description

CVE-2026-20282 is a vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) that allows an authenticated remote attacker with administrative credentials to gain write access to the underlying operating system by sending a crafted HTTP request. The vulnerability arises from insufficient validation of user-supplied input. Cisco rates the security impact as high because the attacker can easily escalate privileges to root from the obtained access. The CVSS score is 4.9 (medium severity).

Impact

An attacker with valid administrative credentials can exploit this vulnerability to gain write access on the underlying operating system of the affected Cisco ISE device. This write access can be escalated easily to root privileges, potentially allowing the attacker to modify system files or configurations, impacting system integrity. There is no direct confidentiality or availability impact reported.

CWE-641Improper Restriction of Names for Files and Other Resources (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Low
The product constructs the name of a file or other resource using input from an upstream component, but it does not restrict or incorrectly restricts the resulting name.
Architecture and Design
Do not allow users to control names of resources used on the server side.
Architecture and Design
Perform allowlist input validation at entry points and also before consuming the resources. Reject bad file names rather than trying to cleanse them.
Architecture and Design
Make sure that technologies consuming the resources are not vulnerable (e.g. buffer overflow, format string, etc.) in a way that would allow code execution if the name of the resource is malformed.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 17 Sep 2026, 02:38 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-641

Technical details

References

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