CVE-2026-20245 | Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authenticated Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Exp

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.

Published: 2026-06-04 Last update: 2026-06-09 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-20245 is rated Active Exploitation (70/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.08%). Core evidence: CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2026-06-09) affecting Cisco / Catalyst SD-WAN Manager. a weakness (CWE-116) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. Mandatory action: Assess exposure and apply mitigations immediately; prioritize emergency patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2026-20245

Name: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2026-06-09

Action due: 2026-06-23

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-20245

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-05 0.08%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-20245

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-20245

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-20245

GHSA-h4c6-cm2m-h5f6 · Severity: high — A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage, could allow...

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-20245

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2026-20245

cvelogic Threat Intelligence