8.8
HIGH CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-20126
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Description

A vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager could allow an authenticated, local attacker with low privileges to gain root privileges on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to an insufficient user authentication mechanism in the REST API. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a request to the REST API of the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain root privileges on the underlying operating system.

INFO

Published Date :

Feb. 25, 2026, 5:25 p.m.

Last Modified :

March 4, 2026, 9:21 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-20126 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Cisco catalyst_sd-wan_manager
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Apply vendor patches to fix insufficient authentication in the REST API and prevent privilege escalation.
  • Apply Cisco security updates for Catalyst SD-WAN Manager.
  • Review and restrict REST API access.
  • Monitor system for unauthorized access attempts.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2026-20126.

URL Resource
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-authbp-qwCX8D4v Vendor Advisory
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-20126 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-20126 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-20126 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

  • The Hacker News
Cisco Confirms Active Exploitation of Two Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Vulnerabilities

Cisco has disclosed that two more vulnerabilities affecting Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (formerly SD-WAN vManage) have come under active exploitation in the wild. The vulnerabilities in question are liste ... Read more

Published Date: Mar 05, 2026 (2 weeks ago)
  • CybersecurityNews
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Vulnerabilities Allow Attackers to Gain Root Access

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Vulnerabilities An urgent security advisory from Cisco warns that multiple vulnerabilities in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager could allow attackers to bypass authentication, gain r ... Read more

Published Date: Mar 05, 2026 (2 weeks, 1 day ago)

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-20126 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Mar. 04, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:cisco:catalyst_sd-wan_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 20.9.8.2 *cpe:2.3:a:cisco:catalyst_sd-wan_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 20.11 up to (excluding) 20.12.5.3 *cpe:2.3:a:cisco:catalyst_sd-wan_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 20.13 up to (excluding) 20.15.4.2 *cpe:2.3:a:cisco:catalyst_sd-wan_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 20.16 up to (excluding) 20.18.2.1 *cpe:2.3:a:cisco:catalyst_sd-wan_manager:20.12.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    Added Reference Type Cisco Systems, Inc.: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-authbp-qwCX8D4v Types: Vendor Advisory
  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Feb. 25, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description A vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager could allow an authenticated, local attacker with low privileges to gain root privileges on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to an insufficient user authentication mechanism in the REST API. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a request to the REST API of the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain root privileges on the underlying operating system.
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-648
    Added Reference https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-authbp-qwCX8D4v
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.