Active Exploitation Triggers Emergency Patch for Cisco ISE Zero-Day
Source SecurityWeek
Exploited in the wild · KEV due 19 Sep 2026 · public detection template (Nuclei) : apply the vendor's fix or mitigations to Cisco Identity Services Engine Software now.
Data as of 31 Oct 2026, 20:20 UTC
- KEV deadline
- US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else. Other KEV due dates
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Sep 2026
Detectable: evidence found.
nuclei template: Cisco Identity Services Engine - ise-kong API Gateway Authentication Bypass
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: evidence found.
Listed in CISA KEV the same day as disclosure
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
Timeline
CVE ID reserved
by Cisco Systems, Inc.
, 28 days before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
, t = 0
In Threat Radar
record ingested
, 36 minutes after disclosure
Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)
exploitation confirmed
, the same day as disclosure
KEV remediation due
US federal deadline
, 3 days after disclosure
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CISA KEV (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 31 Oct 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| CiscoCisco Identity Services Engine Software | Affected
| Fixed in– |
| CiscoCisco ISE Passive Identity Connector | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Cisco has released official patches for multiple versions of ISE and ISE-PIC; upgrading to these fixed versions is strongly recommended to remediate the vulnerability. No workarounds exist except restricting network traffic to the affected devices using infrastructure ACLs to prevent remote exploitation. Organizations should monitor access logs for suspicious usernames on all deployment nodes and consider re-imaging affected devices if malicious activity is detected. Follow Cisco's advisory and CISA guidance for timely patching.
Description
A critical authentication bypass vulnerability (CVE-2026-76460) in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) allows remote unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication via crafted API requests. This zero-day flaw has been actively exploited in the wild, enabling attackers to gain unauthorized access to the device's management interface and execute commands with root privileges. Cisco has released urgent patches for multiple versions and recommends upgrading immediately. No workarounds exist except restricting traffic via infrastructure ACLs. The US CISA has added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, urging rapid patching.