VulnerabilityPublished 6 May 2026

CVE-2026-20195: Cisco Identity Services Engine Software · Observable Response Discrepancy

Affects Cisco Identity Services Engine SoftwareSource CVE Database V5

Compare

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 19% 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:L/I:N/A:N

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

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

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
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: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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 6 May 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 30 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 Identity Services Engine Software	Affected =3.3.0 =3.4.0 =3.5.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Until a patch is available, consider restricting access to the affected API endpoint to trusted networks or authenticated users where possible to reduce exposure.

Description

A vulnerability in an identity management API endpoint of Cisco ISE could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to enumerate valid user accounts on an affected device. This vulnerability exists because error messages are observed when the affected API endpoint is called. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a series of crafted requests to the affected endpoint and analyzing the differentiated responses. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to compile a list of valid usernames on an affected system.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows an unauthenticated attacker to obtain a list of valid usernames on the affected Cisco ISE system. This information disclosure could aid further targeted attacks such as brute force or social engineering. There is no direct impact on system integrity or availability reported. The medium severity rating reflects the confidentiality impact only.

Summary

This vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine software involves an identity management API endpoint that returns distinguishable error messages when queried with crafted requests. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this behavior to enumerate valid user accounts by analyzing the response discrepancies. The vulnerability affects a broad range of Cisco ISE versions from 3.3.0 to 3.5 Patch 3. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.3 (medium), with attack vector network, low attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and limited confidentiality impact.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-unauth-bypass-uxjRXGpb (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 May 2026, 17:07 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats