VulnerabilityPublished 16 Sep 2026

CVE-2026-20283: Cisco Identity Services Engine Software · OS Command Injection

Affects Cisco Identity Services Engine SoftwareSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 31 Oct 2026, 20:20 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 50% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
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: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to 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 16 Sep 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 31 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, restrict administrative access to trusted users only and ensure that IPsec tunnels are configured securely. Monitor Cisco's official advisories for updates on fixes or workarounds.

Description

CVE-2026-20283 is an OS command injection vulnerability in the IPsec Open API endpoint of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) software. It allows an authenticated attacker with administrative credentials to execute arbitrary OS commands. Exploitation requires the node to have multiple network interfaces with an active IPsec tunnel. Cisco rates the security impact as High due to the ease of privilege escalation to root. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5 (medium severity).

Impact

Successful exploitation allows an authenticated attacker with administrative credentials to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of the affected Cisco ISE device. This can lead to full system compromise due to easy privilege escalation to root. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality, integrity, or availability beyond the scope of command execution and privilege escalation.

Summary

This vulnerability arises from insufficient validation of user-supplied input in the IPsec Open API calls of Cisco ISE software. An authenticated remote attacker with administrative privileges can send crafted input to the IPsec Open API endpoint, leading to arbitrary command execution on the underlying OS. The attack requires the device to have more than one network interface, with at least one configured as an active IPsec tunnel. Cisco assigned a Security Impact Rating of High because the attacker can easily escalate privileges to root from the initial access level.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-mult-vul-ymSsTLCc (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 24 Sep 2026, 05:48 UTC

Technical details

References

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