CVE-2026-20186
Published: 15 April 2026
Description
A vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (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 at least Read Only Admin…
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credentials. 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 user-level access to the underlying operating system and then elevate privileges to root. In single-node ISE deployments, successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could cause the affected ISE node to become unavailable, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. In that condition, endpoints that have not already authenticated would be unable to access the network until the node is restored.
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Directly mitigates the insufficient validation of user-supplied input that enables command injection via crafted HTTP requests.
Addresses the underlying flaw in Cisco ISE by requiring identification, reporting, and correction through patching or updates.
Enforces least privilege to restrict Read Only Admin accounts from executing arbitrary commands or escalating to root privileges.
Security SummaryAI
CVE-2026-20186 is a command injection vulnerability (CWE-77) in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) that enables an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device. The flaw arises from insufficient validation of user-supplied input, earning a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.9 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
An attacker with at least Read Only Admin credentials can exploit the vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected ISE device. Successful exploitation provides user-level access to the operating system, allowing subsequent privilege escalation to root privileges. In single-node ISE deployments, exploitation can also trigger a denial-of-service condition, making the node unavailable and preventing unauthenticated endpoints from accessing the network until restoration.
The official Cisco Security Advisory at https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-rce-4fverepv provides further details on affected versions, exploitation conditions, and recommended mitigations or patches.
Details
- CWE(s)
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Command injection vulnerability enables remote exploitation of ISE service (T1210), arbitrary OS command execution via Unix shell (T1059.004), and user-level access facilitating privilege escalation to root (T1068).