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CVE-2026-20182

Cisco — Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Cisco · CWE-287 — Improper authentication · in CISA KEV since 2026-05-14

ExigentCISA federal deadline · Overdue by 5 monthsCISA KEVActively Exploited
88

EVRS 88 of 100 Immediate

Out-of-Band / Urgent Remediation

Rank 188 of 2,960 tracked

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Why it scores 88

Evidence available: 6 of 7 signals

Listed in the CISA KEV catalog, and an EPSS probability of 0.918.

  • CISA KEVApplied
  • RansomwareDid not apply
  • Vendor exploitationDid not apply
  • EPSSApplied
  • Microsoft Exploitability IndexNot applicable
  • Pre-patch disclosureNo data
  • KEV recencyDid not apply
  • CVSSApplied

The band answers “how soon”, not “how bad”. No data for: Pre-patch disclosure. Why some signals show no data

Fix

Patch or fixed version identified

CISA required action

Fixed in

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN -> 17.2

Affected versions

  • catalyst sd-wan manager< 20.9.9.1>= 20.10 < 20.12.5.4>= 20.12.6 < 20.12.6.2>= 20.13 < 20.15.4.4>= 20.15.5 < 20.15.5.2>= 20.16 < 20.18.2.2>= 26.1 < 26.1.1.120.12.7
  • sd-wan vbond orchestrator< 20.9.9.1>= 20.10 < 20.12.5.4>= 20.12.6 < 20.12.6.2>= 20.13 < 20.15.4.4>= 20.15.5 < 20.15.5.2>= 20.16 < 20.18.2.2>= 26.1 < 26.1.1.120.12.7
  • sd-wan vsmart controller< 20.9.9.1>= 20.10 < 20.12.5.4>= 20.12.6 < 20.12.6.2>= 20.13 < 20.15.4.4>= 20.15.5 < 20.15.5.2>= 20.16 < 20.18.2.2>= 26.1 < 26.1.1.120.12.7

Remediation

Please adhere to CISA’s guidelines to assess exposure and mitigate risks associated with Cisco SD-WAN devices as outlined in CISA’s Emergency Directive 26-03 (URL listed below in Notes) and CISA’s Hunt & Hardening Guidance for Cisco SD-WAN Devices (URL listed below in Notes). Adhere to the applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are not available.

Fixed versions from NVD.

Evidence

Each value with its source
MeasureValueSource
CVSS base scoreHow severe the flaw is in itself. It does not say how likely an attack is. 10.0 NVD
FIRST EPSSFIRST's estimate of the chance this is exploited in the next 30 days, and how that ranks against all CVEs. 0.918 (99.82nd pctl) FIRST EPSS
Actively exploitedWhether a source of record has confirmed attacks using it in the wild. Confirmed CISA KEV
Ransomware campaign useWhether CISA has seen ransomware operators use it. Unknown or none CISA KEV
CISA remediation deadlineThe date US federal agencies must have fixed or mitigated it. 2026-05-17 · CISA federal deadline · Overdue by 5 months CISA KEV
Public exploit moduleA module existing is not the same as active exploitation. Public module exists Metasploit
EUVD cross-referenceENISA's record: CVSS 10.0 (v3.1), assigned by cisco. Listed ENISA EUVD

Description

NVD

May 2026: This security advisory provides the details and fix information for a vulnerability that was discovered and fixed after the was disclosed in February 2026. This new advisory is for a new vulnerability in the control connection handshaking. The section of this advisory includes Show Control Connections guidance to help with system checks.&nbsp; A vulnerability in the peering authentication in 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 unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and obtain administrative privileges on an affected system. This vulnerability exists because the peering authentication mechanism in an affected system is not working properly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted requests to the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to an affected Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller as an internal, high-privileged, non-root user account. Using this account, the attacker could access NETCONF, which would then allow the attacker to manipulate network configuration for the SD-WAN fabric.

What CISA says to do

Public module

Metasploit lists a public normal-rank module for this CVE: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller vHub Authentication Bypass (admin/networking/cisco_sdwan_vhub_auth_bypass). A module existing is not the same as active exploitation; see metasploit.com.