Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
- Published
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Listed in CISA KEV
- How many real-world setups can hit the bug, from the vendor's advisory and CISA data. It does not know your setup.What do these mean? →
- Actively exploited
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
Summary
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller (formerly vSmart), Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (formerly vManage), and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator (formerly vBond) are affected. A remote, unauthenticated attacker could bypass authentication and gain administrative privileges, potentially allowing them to change network configuration for the SD-WAN fabric.
Summarized by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5. Verify details against the original sources.
Read the original description
May 2026: This security advisory provides the details and fix information for a vulnerability that was discovered and fixed after the was disclosed in February 2026. This new advisory is for a new vulnerability in the control connection handshaking. The section of this advisory includes Show Control Connections guidance to help with system checks. A vulnerability in the peering authentication in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD-WAN vSmart, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator, formerly SD-WAN vBond, could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and obtain administrative privileges on an affected system. This vulnerability exists because the peering authentication mechanism in an affected system is not working properly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted requests to the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to an affected Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller as an internal, high-privileged, non-root user account. Using this account, the attacker could access NETCONF, which would then allow the attacker to manipulate network configuration for the SD-WAN fabric.
Timeline
- Added to CISA KEV
CISA has evidence of exploitation in the wild
- CVE published
- CISA remediation deadline
Due date for US federal agencies to patch
- Record last updated
- EPSS reached 10%
FIRST estimates at least a 10% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Affected versions
- Cisco Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller
20.6.4, 20.9.2, 20.3.6, 20.7.2, 20.7.1, 20.5.1, 20.6.2, 19.3.0, 20.6.1, 17.2.4, 18.2.0, 18.4.6, 19.1.0, 19.2.4, 19.2.929, 18.3.8, 18.4.303, 18.3.7, 18.4.1, 19.2.097, 19.2.0, 19.2.099, 18.3.6, 20.4.2, 19.0.0, 20.9.1, 20.3.5, 20.3.1, 18.3.5, 20.6.3, and 99 more
- Cisco Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager
20.1.12, 19.2.1, 18.4.4, 18.4.5, 20.1.1.1, 20.1.1, 19.2.099, 18.3.6, 18.3.7, 19.2.0, 19.1.0, 18.4.303, 19.2.098, 18.3.6.1, 18.2.0, 17.2.8, 18.3.3.1, 18.4.0, 18.3.1, 17.2.6, 17.2.9, 17.2.5, 18.4.0.1, 18.3.3, 18.3.0, 19.2.3, 18.4.501_ES, 20.1.2, 19.2.929, 19.2.31, and 4 more
References 2
Questions about CVE-2026-20182
What does this mean?
An unauthenticated remote attacker can bypass authentication and obtain administrative privileges on an affected system. The attacker can log in as an internal, high-privileged non-root account and use NETCONF to change network configuration for the SD-WAN fabric.Source: sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
Am I affected, and how do I check?
The bug affects Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator, regardless of system configuration. The checked facts do not list affected version numbers, so check the software version of each product against Cisco's advisory. Systems with ports exposed to the internet are described as at risk of compromise.Source: sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
What should I do about it?
The checked facts do not name a fixed release to upgrade to. Check Cisco's advisory for the fixed version of each affected product and apply it when it is available.Source: sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
Is it being exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-05-14, which means it has evidence of attacks. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cisa.gov, cve.now feed data
What if there's no patch?
The checked facts do not list a workaround. Until a fix is confirmed, limiting internet exposure of the affected controller and manager ports is the only measure the facts point to.Source: sec.cloudapps.cisco.com