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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-20126: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager · Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs

Affects Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN ManagerSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
8.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 26% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 25 Feb 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
CiscoCisco Catalyst SD-WAN ManagerAffected
  • 17.2.4 – 20.18.2_LI_Images
331 affected builds
Fixed in–

AI-suggested

  1. Immediate application of Cisco's security patches or updates addressing CVE-2026-20126 once released is paramount.
  2. Restrict access to the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager REST API to trusted administrators only, using network segmentation and firewall rules to limit exposure.
  3. Enforce strong authentication mechanisms for all REST API access, including multi-factor authentication (MFA) where possible.
  4. Monitor API access logs for unusual or unauthorized activity indicative of exploitation attempts.
  5. Implement strict role-based access control (RBAC) to minimize privileges assigned to users interacting with the SD-WAN Manager.
  6. Conduct regular vulnerability scans and penetration tests focusing on SD-WAN management interfaces.
  7. Consider deploying intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) tuned to detect anomalous REST API requests.
  8. Maintain an incident response plan specifically addressing potential SD-WAN compromise scenarios.
  9. Educate network administrators about the risks of privilege escalation vulnerabilities and the importance of secure API usage.
  10. If patching is delayed, consider temporary mitigations such as disabling or limiting REST API functionality where feasible.

Description

A vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager could allow an authenticated, local attacker with low privileges to gain root privileges on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to an insufficient user authentication mechanism in the REST API. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a request to the REST API of the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain root privileges on the underlying operating system.

References

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