CVE-2026-20245: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on , 5 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 25.3%
EPSS score, percentile 97.9 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 7.8 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA
- What should I do?
CISA deadline . Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected
- 20.6.4
- 20.9.2
- 20.3.6
- 20.7.2
- 20.7.1
- 20.5.1
and 18 more in the table below
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of ; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of ; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
CISA due date for this action: .
Advisories and patches
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
- https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-privesc-4uxFrdzx
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20245
Affected products and versions
As listed in the CVE record.
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | 20.6.4 |
| Affected | 20.9.2 |
| Affected | 20.3.6 |
| Affected | 20.7.2 |
| Affected | 20.7.1 |
| Affected | 20.5.1 |
| Affected | 20.6.2 |
| Affected | 19.3.0 |
| Affected | 20.6.1 |
| Affected | 17.2.4 |
| Affected | 18.2.0 |
| Affected | 18.4.6 |
Versions not listed are: unknown.
And 129 more version entries in the CVE record.
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | 20.1.12 |
| Affected | 19.2.1 |
| Affected | 18.4.4 |
| Affected | 18.4.5 |
| Affected | 20.1.1.1 |
| Affected | 20.1.1 |
| Affected | 19.3.0 |
| Affected | 19.2.2 |
| Affected | 19.2.099 |
| Affected | 18.3.6 |
| Affected | 18.3.7 |
| Affected | 19.2.0 |
Versions not listed are: unknown.
And 364 more version entries in the CVE record.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
About this vulnerability
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager formerly SD-WAN vManage contains an improper encoding or escaping of output vulnerability. This vulnerability could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root by supplying a crafted file to the affected system.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of .
- CISA added CVE-2026-20245 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 9 Jun 2026.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 23 Jun 2026.
- The CVE record was published on 4 Jun 2026, 5 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High), given by its CNA.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 25.3% (percentile 97.9), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of ; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of ; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of . About the data.
Description
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authenticated Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
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.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
Weakness
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| CVE record published | |
| Added to CISA KEV | |
| CISA due date for the required action | |
| CVE record last updated |
References
- cisco-sa-sdwan-privesc-4uxFrdzx
- CVE-2026-20182</a> or <a href="https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-rpa-EHchtZk" target="_blank" rel="n…
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