# CVE-2026-20161: Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent Arbitrary File Overwrite Vulnerability

> An authenticated local attacker can overwrite arbitrary files on the system by exploiting improper access controls and symbolic links.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rpqw-j963-73gh

## What is CVE-2026-20161?

CVE-2026-20161 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent, published on 15 Apr 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent could allow an authenticated, local attacker with low privileges to overwrite arbitrary files on the local system of an affected device.

This vulnerability is due to improper access controls on files that are on the local file system of an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by placing a symbolic link in a specific location on the local file system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass file system permissions and overwrite arbitrary files on the affected device.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-20161?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-20161?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-20161 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-20161 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20161 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-20161 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-20161 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent, published on 15 Apr 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20161 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent. 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-2026-20161/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20161/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-20161
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20161
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20161

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20161/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.