# CVE-2026-20168: Cisco IoT Field Network Director Path Traversal Vulnerability

> Authenticated low-privilege attackers can read unauthorized files via crafted input in the Cisco IoT Field Network Director web interface.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 6 May 2026
- **Updated:** 6 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4q4m-pqh7-mj3f

## What is CVE-2026-20168?

CVE-2026-20168 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco IoT Field Network Director (IoT-FND), published on 6 May 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco IoT Field Network Director could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with low privileges to retrieve files that they do not have permission to access.

This vulnerability is due to insufficient file access checks. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting crafted input in the web-based management interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to read files that they are not authorized to access.

Weakness: CWE-388

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-20168?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Iot Field Network Director.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-20168?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-20168 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-20168 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20168 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco IoT Field Network Director (IoT-FND)

- [CVE-2020-3531](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3531/): Cisco IoT Field Network Director Unauthenticated REST API Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2018-0270](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0270/): Cross-site request forgery in Cisco IoT Field Network Director (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-26072](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-26072/): Cisco IoT Field Network Director SOAP API Authorization Bypass Vulnerability (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2026-20167](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20167/): Cisco IoT Field Network Director Remote Device Denial of Service Vulnerability (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2020-3392](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3392/): Cisco IoT Field Network Director Missing API Authentication Vulnerability (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-20168 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-20168 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco IoT Field Network Director (IoT-FND), published on 6 May 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20168 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco IoT Field Network Director (IoT-FND). 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-2026-20168/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20168/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-20168
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20168
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20168

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20168/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.