# CVE-2026-20096: Cisco Integrated Management Controller Command Injection Vulnerability

> Authenticated admin attackers can inject commands into Cisco IMC to execute arbitrary code as root on the underlying OS.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 22 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3w5r-3hp5-3v3p

## What is CVE-2026-20096?

CVE-2026-20096 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Unified Computing System, published on 1 Apr 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco IMC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with admin-level privileges to perform command injection attacks on an affected system and execute arbitrary commands as the root user.

This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted commands to the web-based management interface of the affected software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system as the root user. Cisco has assigned this vulnerability a Security Impact Rating (SIR) of High, rather than Medium as the score indicates, because additional security implications could occur once the attacker has become root.

Weakness: CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-20096?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Cisco Enterprise Nfv Infrastructure Software, Cisco Unified Computing System, Cisco Unified Computing System E-Series Software.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-20096?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-20096 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-20096 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20096 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Unified Computing System

- [CVE-2022-20777](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20777/): Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software Vulnerabilities (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2022-20779](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20779/): Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software Vulnerabilities (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2022-20780](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20780/): Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software Vulnerabilities (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2021-34746](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-34746/): Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software Authentication Bypass Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-3470](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3470/): Cisco Integrated Management Controller Multiple Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-20096 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-20096 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Unified Computing System, published on 1 Apr 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20096 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Unified Computing System. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20096/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20096/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-20096
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20096
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20096

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20096/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.