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Report · Zero Day InitiativeAbout CVE-2026-20043Published

ZDI-26-867: Cisco Snort sf_unfold_header Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Source Zero Day Initiative

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-20043· Critical 9.0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.0 Critical.

Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 00:01 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
9.0Critical
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none
CVSS scores by source
CNA (cisco)CVSS 3.19.0
EPSS
0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 30% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 21 Oct 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 5 Nov 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
CiscoCisco Cyber VisionAffected
  • >=4.2.0 <4.3.0 – 5.8.1
65 affected builds
Fixed in–
CiscoCisco Open Source Snort3Affected
  • 3.1.2.0 – 3.12.2.0
105 affected builds
Fixed in–
CiscoCisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) SoftwareAffected
  • 7.0.0 – 10.0.0
59 affected builds
Fixed in–
CiscoCisco UTD SNORT IPS Engine SoftwareAffected
  • 17.3.1a – 26.1.2
83 affected builds
Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Until an official fix is available, restrict access to affected Snort installations and monitor for updates from Cisco.

Description

A critical remote code execution vulnerability exists in Cisco Snort's sf_unfold_header component. This flaw allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. The vulnerability has been assigned CVE-2026-20043 and carries a high severity rating of 9.8 by the Zero Day Initiative.

References

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