VulnerabilityPublished 5 Aug 2026Updated 16 Sep 2026

CVE-2026-20288: Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software · Improper Neutralization of Expression/Command Delimiters

Affects Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure SoftwareSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 3 Nov 2026, 10:57 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 5 Aug 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 3 Nov 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 Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software	Affected 3.3.1 – 26.1.1 69 affected builds	Fixed in–
CiscoCisco Unified Computing System (Standalone)	Affected 3.1(1d) – 6.0(2.260069) 156 affected builds	Fixed in–
CiscoCisco Unified Computing System E-Series Software (UCSE)	Affected 3.1.0 – 4.15.3 29 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Until a patch is available, restrict Admin access to trusted personnel and monitor for unusual activity on the management interface.

Description

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco IMC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with Admin privileges to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected system and elevate privileges to root.  This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by entering crafted inputs to the web-based management interface of the affected software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system as the root user.  Cisco has assigned this vulnerability a SIR of High rather than Medium as the score indicates because additional security implications could occur when the attacker becomes root.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows an authenticated attacker with Admin privileges to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system as the root user, potentially leading to full system compromise. This elevates the attacker's privileges beyond the initial Admin level to root, increasing the severity of the impact.

Summary

This vulnerability involves improper neutralization of expression or command delimiters in the Cisco IMC web-based management interface. An attacker with Admin privileges can exploit this flaw by submitting crafted inputs, leading to arbitrary command execution on the underlying OS with root privileges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation, allowing command injection. Cisco has assigned a high security impact rating due to the potential for privilege escalation to root, despite the CVSS score being medium.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cimc-arg-inject-upSHdMfU (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 5 Aug 2026, 17:33 UTC

Technical details

References

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