CVE-2026-20180: Cisco Identity Services Engine Software · Path Traversal
Affects Cisco Identity Services Engine SoftwareSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.9 Critical.
Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC
- EPSS
- 6.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 93% 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:C/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Apr 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: evidence found.
Public exploit code: GitHub proofs of concept
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), GitHub proofs of concept, the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 Oct 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| CiscoCisco Identity Services Engine Software | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Until a patch is available, restrict Read Only Admin credentials to trusted personnel only and monitor for suspicious HTTP requests targeting the ISE device. Avoid single-node deployments where possible to reduce impact of potential denial of service.
Description
CVE-2026-20180 is a critical vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) software that allows an authenticated remote attacker with at least Read Only Admin credentials to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. The vulnerability arises from insufficient validation of user-supplied input, enabling a crafted HTTP request to achieve user-level OS access and privilege escalation to root. In single-node deployments, exploitation can cause denial of service by making the ISE node unavailable, disrupting network access for unauthenticated endpoints.