VulnerabilityPublished 25 Feb 2026

CVE-2026-20037: Cisco Unified Computing System (Managed) · Execution with Unnecessary Privileges

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

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.4 Medium.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.4Medium

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

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 1% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on 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) – 4.3(6e) 90 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-20037, organizations should first verify if their Cisco UCS Manager deployments run affected versions and prioritize upgrading to patched releases once Cisco issues updates. In the absence of patches, restrict access to the UCS Manager interface strictly to trusted administrators and implement strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of credential compromise. Review and tighten role-based access controls to ensure that read-only users cannot access the NX-OS CLI or perform any privileged commands. Employ network segmentation and firewall rules to limit local access to UCS Manager systems, minimizing the attack surface for potential local attackers. Monitor logs and audit trails for unusual file modifications or unauthorized CLI activity indicative of exploitation attempts. Additionally, consider deploying host-based integrity monitoring solutions on UCS Manager servers to detect unauthorized file changes promptly. Regularly review and update user privileges to follow the principle of least privilege, ensuring no unnecessary elevated rights are granted to read-only roles. Finally, maintain an incident response plan that includes procedures for handling potential compromise of UCS infrastructure.

Description

A vulnerability in the NX-OS CLI privilege levels of Cisco UCS Manager Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with read-only privileges to modify files and perform unauthorized actions on an affected system.   This vulnerability exists because unnecessary privileges are given to the user. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to a device as a read-only user and connecting to the NX-OS CLI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to create or overwrite files in the file system or perform limited privileged actions on an affected device.   

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-20037 is on the integrity of affected Cisco UCS Manager systems. An attacker with read-only credentials can modify or overwrite files, potentially altering system configurations or implanting malicious code. This could lead to unauthorized changes in the management plane of UCS infrastructure, undermining trust in system operations and potentially enabling further compromise or disruption. While availability is not directly affected, the integrity breach could cascade into operational issues or facilitate privilege escalation attacks. Organizations relying on Cisco UCS for data center management, cloud infrastructure, or critical enterprise services may face increased risk of insider threats or lateral movement by attackers who gain low-level access. The vulnerability's requirement for local authentication limits exposure to insiders or attackers who have already compromised user credentials, but the broad range of affected versions and widespread deployment increases the overall risk. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate threat but does not eliminate the potential for future targeted attacks. Failure to address this vulnerability could result in unauthorized configuration changes, data tampering, and erosion of security controls within critical infrastructure environments.

References

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

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Feb 2026, 00:01 UTC

Technical details

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