CVE-2026-20136: Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output in Cisco Cisco Identity Services Engine Software
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) could allow an authenticated, local attacker with administrative privileges to perform a command injection attack on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by providing crafted input to a specific CLI command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate their privileges to root on the underlying operating system.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) CLI arises from improper encoding or escaping of user-supplied input. An authenticated local attacker with administrative privileges can provide crafted input to a specific CLI command, leading to command injection on the underlying OS and privilege escalation to root. The issue affects numerous versions of Cisco ISE software, including 3.1.0 through 3.5 Patch 2 and various patches. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.0, indicating medium severity with local attack vector, low attack complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, and impacts confidentiality and integrity but not availability. No official patch or vendor advisory detailing remediation is currently available.
Potential Impact
An authenticated local attacker with administrative privileges can exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system, resulting in privilege escalation to root. This could compromise the confidentiality and integrity of the system. Availability is not impacted. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, restrict administrative access to trusted personnel only and monitor for suspicious CLI activity. Do not rely on generic mitigations as this vulnerability requires specific input validation fixes.
CVE-2026-20136: Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output in Cisco Cisco Identity Services Engine Software
Description
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) could allow an authenticated, local attacker with administrative privileges to perform a command injection attack on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by providing crafted input to a specific CLI command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate their privileges to root on the underlying operating system.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) CLI arises from improper encoding or escaping of user-supplied input. An authenticated local attacker with administrative privileges can provide crafted input to a specific CLI command, leading to command injection on the underlying OS and privilege escalation to root. The issue affects numerous versions of Cisco ISE software, including 3.1.0 through 3.5 Patch 2 and various patches. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.0, indicating medium severity with local attack vector, low attack complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, and impacts confidentiality and integrity but not availability. No official patch or vendor advisory detailing remediation is currently available.
Potential Impact
An authenticated local attacker with administrative privileges can exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system, resulting in privilege escalation to root. This could compromise the confidentiality and integrity of the system. Availability is not impacted. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, restrict administrative access to trusted personnel only and monitor for suspicious CLI activity. Do not rely on generic mitigations as this vulnerability requires specific input validation fixes.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- cisco
- Date Reserved
- 2025-10-08T11:59:15.381Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 69dfb9f682d89c981f6ee684
Added to database: 4/15/2026, 4:16:54 PM
Last enriched: 4/15/2026, 4:32:32 PM
Last updated: 4/16/2026, 6:22:20 AM
Views: 7
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