Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authenticated Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Affects Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller and Manager, and Validator per the advisory text, regardless of device configuration. No vendor rating or fixed release is listed in the checked facts.
- 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- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean?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, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator are affected. An authenticated local attacker with netadmin privileges could upload a crafted file to run arbitrary commands as root and gain full control of the system.
Summarized by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5. Verify details against the original sources.
Read the original description
A vulnerability in the CLI of 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 authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root by supplying a crafted file to the affected system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted file to the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform command injection attacks on an affected system and elevate their privileges as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have netadmin privileges on the affected system. This would require valid credentials or exploitation of or . Cisco is not aware of successful exploitation by other methods. Cisco has observed limited cases where the exploitation of this bug resulted in a configuration change pushed to edge devices. Cisco recommends that customers upgrade to the fixed software that is documented in the that was published on May 14, 2026, and verify the configuration of the edge devices.
Timeline
- CVE published
- Added to CISA KEV
CISA has evidence of exploitation in the wild
- 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 111 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, 19.3.0, 19.2.2, 19.2.099, 18.3.6, 18.3.7, 19.2.0, 18.3.8, 19.0.0, 19.1.0, 18.4.302, 18.4.303, 19.2.097, 19.2.098, 17.2.10, 18.3.6.1, 19.0.1a, 18.2.0, 18.4.3, 18.4.1, 17.2.8, 18.3.3.1, 18.4.0, 18.3.1, 17.2.6, and 346 more
References 2
Questions about CVE-2026-20245
What does this mean?
An authenticated user can supply a crafted file to the affected system to run arbitrary commands as root. This command injection lets them elevate privileges to root.Source: sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
Am I affected, and how do I check?
The advisory says the flaw affects Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator, regardless of device configuration. The checked facts do not list specific version ranges, so compare your product's version against the Cisco advisory.Source: sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
What should I do about it?
The checked facts do not name a fixed release, so no upgrade target can be given here. Check the Cisco advisory for the fixed version of your product.Source: sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
Is it being exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-06-09, 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 describe a workaround. Consult the Cisco advisory for any mitigation guidance while a fix is pending.Source: sec.cloudapps.cisco.com