CVE-2026-20282 Cisco Identity Services Engine Authenticated Write Vulnerability
An authenticated attacker with admin credentials can exploit insufficient input validation to gain root access on Cisco ISE devices.
- 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-2026-20282?
CVE-2026-20282 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine Software, published on 16 Sep 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A vulnerability in Cisco ISE could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to obtain write access on the underlying operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain write access to the underlying operating system. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials. Note: For CVE-2026-20282, Cisco has assigned a Security Impact Rating (SIR) of High rather than Medium as the score indicates. The reason is that it is easy to get to root from the achieved privilege level.
Weakness: CWE-641
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-20282?
How do I fix CVE-2026-20282?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-20282 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-20282 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20282 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-pfwv-v5q9-qwh6.