# CVE-2026-20146: Cisco Identity Services Engine Path Traversal Vulnerability

> Authenticated attackers can read or delete arbitrary files on Cisco ISE systems via path traversal, requiring administrative credentials.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/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:** 15 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-37fr-rv4j-c6g2

## What is CVE-2026-20146?

CVE-2026-20146 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine, published on 15 Jul 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform path traversal attacks on the underlying operating system to either read or delete arbitrary files. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials. 

This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to access sensitive files or delete arbitrary files on the affected system.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-20146?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Cisco Identity Services Engine, Cisco Identity Services Engine Passive Identity Connector.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-20146?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-20146 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-20146 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20146 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Identity Services Engine

- [CVE-2026-76460](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76460/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-20337](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20337/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Injection (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-20281](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20281/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Injection (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-20130](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20130/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Hardening Release - Improper Neutralization Vulnerabilities (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-20192](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20192/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Hardening Release - Access Control Vulnerabilities (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-20146 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-20146 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine, published on 15 Jul 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20146 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Identity Services Engine. 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-2026-20146/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20146/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-20146
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20146
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20146

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20146/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.