CVE-2026-20174 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights Arbitrary File Write Vulnerability
Authenticated attackers can write arbitrary files as root via insufficient validation in the metadata update feature of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-20174?
CVE-2026-20174 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Nexus Dashboard, 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 Metadata update feature of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to write arbitrary files to an affected system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of the metadata update file. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by crafting a metadata update file and manually uploading it to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to write arbitrary files to the underlying operating system as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials. Note: Manual uploading of metadata files is typical for Air-Gap environments but not for Cisco Intersight Cloud connected devices. However, the manual upload option exists for both deployments.
Weakness: CWE-22
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-20174?
It affects 2 products.
Products include Cisco Nexus Dashboard, Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights.
How do I fix CVE-2026-20174?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-20174 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-20174 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20174 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Nexus Dashboard
- CVE-2022-20857 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Unauthorized Access Vulnerabilities
- CVE-2022-20858 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Unauthorized Access Vulnerabilities
- CVE-2022-20861 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Unauthorized Access Vulnerabilities
- CVE-2025-20163 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller SSH Host Key Vulnerability
- CVE-2024-20281 Cross-site request forgery in Cisco Data Center Network Manager
Sources
Also known as GHSA-2cwq-r4f6-rjgw.