CVEs / CVE-2026-20245

CVE-2026-20245: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output Vulnerability

• Known exploited in the CISA KEV catalog since 9 Jun 2026
• high 7.8 CVSS 3.1 (from the CNA)
• EPSS 25.3% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 97% of CVEs (30 Oct 2026)
• Last changed at its sources 23 Jul 2026

Summary

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager formerly SD-WAN vManage contains an improper encoding or escaping of output vulnerability. This vulnerability could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root by supplying a crafted file to the affected system.

Description

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD-WAN vSmart, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator, formerly SD-WAN vBond, could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root by supplying a crafted file to the affected system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted file to the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform command injection attacks on an affected system and elevate their privileges as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have netadmin privileges on the affected system. This would require valid credentials or exploitation of or . Cisco is not aware of successful exploitation by other methods. Cisco has observed limited cases where the exploitation of this bug resulted in a configuration change pushed to edge devices. Cisco recommends that customers upgrade to the fixed software that is documented in the that was published on May 14, 2026, and verify the configuration of the edge devices.

Affected and fixed versions

Exploitation

Severity

References

• CVE-2026-20245 on NVD
• CVE-2026-20245 in the CISA KEV catalog
• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-privesc-4uxFrdzx (cited by CISA)
• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-privesc-4uxFrdzx Vendor Advisory
• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-rpa2-v69WY2SW Vendor Advisory
• https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-20245 US Government Resource