# CVE-2026-20306: Cisco Identity Services Engine Command Injection Vulnerability

> An authenticated attacker with admin credentials can inject commands to execute arbitrary code and gain root privileges on Cisco ISE.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m8gm-7wx7-cf56

## What is CVE-2026-20306?

CVE-2026-20306 is a critical command injection vulnerability in Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector, published on 16 Sep 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the REST API of Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform command injection attacks on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. 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 crafted commands to the web-based management interface of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the device and elevate privileges to root. In single-node deployments, successful exploitation of this vulnerability could cause the affected ISE node to become unavailable, resulting in a DoS condition. In that condition, endpoints that have not already authenticated would be unable to access the network until the node is restored.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-20306?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-20306?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-20306 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-20306 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20306 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-20306 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-20306 is a critical command injection vulnerability in Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector, published on 16 Sep 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20306 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector. 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-2026-20306/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20306/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-20306
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20306
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20306

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20306/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.