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VulnerabilityPublished

CVE-2026-20160: Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem · Resource Exposure

Affects Cisco Smart Software Manager On-PremSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.8 Critical.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
9.8Critical
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 60% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 1 Apr 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 30 Oct 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
CiscoCisco Smart Software Manager On-PremAffected
  • 9-202502 – 9-202510
4 affected builds
Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-20160, organizations should immediately identify and isolate any exposed Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem instances from untrusted networks. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be applied to restrict access to the SSM On-Prem API to trusted management networks only. Cisco should be monitored closely for official patches or updates addressing this vulnerability, and these should be applied promptly once available. In the interim, consider disabling or restricting the exposed internal service if possible, or applying application-layer filtering to block malicious crafted requests targeting the API. Regularly audit and monitor SSM On-Prem logs for suspicious activity indicative of exploitation attempts. Employ intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) with updated signatures to detect exploitation patterns. Additionally, ensure that backups of the SSM On-Prem host are current and tested to enable recovery in case of compromise. Finally, review and harden the underlying operating system and network environment to reduce the attack surface.

Description

A vulnerability in Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem (SSM On-Prem) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected SSM On-Prem host. This vulnerability is due to the unintentional exposure of an internal service. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the API of the exposed service. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system with root-level privileges.

References

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