9.1
CRITICAL CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-20211
Cisco Identity Services Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Description

A vulnerability in Cisco ISE could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid high-privileged administrative credentials. This vulnerability is due to insecure deserialization of Java objects by the affected software. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted serialized Java object to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain user-level access to the underlying operating system and then 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.

INFO

Published Date :

Sept. 16, 2026, 8:17 p.m.

Last Modified :

Sept. 17, 2026, 12:17 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-20211 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 identity_services_engine
2 Cisco identity_services_engine_software
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 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
CVSS 3.1 CRITICAL [email protected]
Solution
Update Cisco ISE to fix insecure deserialization vulnerability and prevent command execution.
  • Update Cisco ISE software to the latest version.
  • Apply vendor-provided security patches.
  • Restrict access to high-privileged administrative credentials.
  • Monitor system for suspicious activity.
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-2026-20211.

URL Resource
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-rce-se7bYU57
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-20211 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-2026-20211 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-2026-20211 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

  • The Hacker News
Cisco Warns of New Zero-Day ISE Auth Bypass (CVSS 10.0) Exploited in Active Attacks

Cisco has warned of a fresh maximum-severity security flaw impacting Identity Services Engine (ISE) that has come under active exploitation. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-76460 (CVSS score: 1 ... Read more

Published Date: Sep 17, 2026 (2 weeks, 1 day ago)

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-20211 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.

  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Sep. 17, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Changed SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-20211', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'total'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-09-16T00:00:00+00:00'} {'id': 'CVE-2026-20211', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'total'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-09-17T03:57:12.101305Z'}
  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Sep. 17, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-20211', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'total'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-09-16T00:00:00+00:00'}
  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Sep. 16, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description A vulnerability in Cisco ISE could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid high-privileged administrative credentials. This vulnerability is due to insecure deserialization of Java objects by the affected software. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted serialized Java object to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain user-level access to the underlying operating system and then 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.
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-502
    Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/20xxx/CVE-2026-20211.json">CVE-2026-20211</a>
    Added Reference https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-rce-se7bYU57
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.