VulnerabilityPublished 25 Feb 2026

CVE-2026-20036: Cisco Unified Computing System (Managed) · OS Command Injection

Affects Cisco Unified Computing System (Managed)Source CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 19:04 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 43% 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:H/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
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 25 Feb 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 29 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.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
CiscoCisco Unified Computing System (Managed)	Affected 4.0(1a) – 6.0(1f) 95 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Apply Cisco's security patches or software updates for UCS Manager as soon as they become available to address this vulnerability.
Restrict administrative access to UCS Manager interfaces using network segmentation, VPNs, or jump hosts to minimize exposure.
Enforce strong multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative accounts to reduce the risk of credential compromise.
Regularly audit and monitor administrative account usage and command execution logs for suspicious activity.
Implement strict input validation and command filtering where possible in custom scripts or integrations interacting with UCS Manager.
Limit the number of users with administrative privileges to the minimum necessary.
Use role-based access controls (RBAC) to segregate duties and reduce the risk of privilege abuse.
Conduct periodic security assessments and penetration testing focused on UCS Manager environments.
Maintain an incident response plan tailored to potential UCS Manager compromises to enable rapid containment and recovery.

Description

A vulnerability in the CLI and web-based management interface of Cisco UCS Manager Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with valid administrative privileges to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device.    This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of command arguments that are supplied by the user. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to a device and submitting crafted input to the affected command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device with root-level privileges.

Impact

If exploited, this vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on Cisco UCS Manager systems. This can lead to complete compromise of the management infrastructure, enabling attackers to manipulate server configurations, access sensitive data, disrupt operations, or pivot to other parts of the network. The confidentiality and integrity of data managed by UCS systems are at high risk. Although availability is not directly impacted, the attacker could indirectly cause service disruptions by modifying system settings or deleting critical files. Organizations relying on Cisco UCS for server and data center management could face significant operational and reputational damage. The requirement for administrative credentials limits exploitation to insiders or attackers who have already compromised privileged accounts, but the elevated privileges gained post-authentication make the threat severe. The broad range of affected versions increases the attack surface globally, especially in large enterprises and cloud providers using Cisco UCS infrastructure.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ucsm-cmdinj-GvxLPeSB (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 08:25 UTC

Technical details

References

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