CVE Intelligence
Critical Injection

CVE-2026-20305 — Cisco Identity Services Engine Command Injection Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the diagnostic tools of Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform command injection attacks on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted commands to the web-based management interface of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the device and 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 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.

Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: cisco

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 1.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+11
  • Technical severity (critical)+10

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
1.41%
ahead of 72% of scored CVEs · Oct 15, 2026
Affects
Cisco
Cisco Identity Services Engine Software and 1 more
CVSS base
9.1
Critical · 2 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Cisco Cisco Identity Services Engine Software, Cisco Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector).
  2. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (injection), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Cisco Cisco Identity Services Engine Software version 3.5 Patch 1version 3.4 Patch 1version 3.1.0 p10version 3.3 Patch 5version 3.3 Patch 6version 3.4 Patch 2version 3.3 Patch 7version 3.4 Patch 3
and 39 more version 3.5.0version 3.4 Patch 4version 3.3 Patch 8version 3.2 Patch 8version 3.1.0 p1version 3.3 Patch 9version 3.2 Patch 9version 3.4 Patch 5version 3.5 Patch 3version 3.5 Patch 2version 3.3 Patch 10version 3.3 Patch 11version 3.4 Patch 6version 3.2 Patch 10version 3.1.0 p72version 3.1.0 p11version 3.2.0 p7version 3.1.0version 3.1.0 p3version 3.1.0 p2version 3.2.0version 3.1.0 p4version 3.1.0 p5version 3.2.0 p1version 3.1.0 p6version 3.2.0 p2version 3.1.0 p7version 3.3.0version 3.2.0 p3version 3.2.0 p4version 3.1.0 p8version 3.2.0 p5version 3.2.0 p6version 3.1.0 p9version 3.3 Patch 2version 3.3 Patch 1version 3.3 Patch 3version 3.4.0version 3.3 Patch 4
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Cisco Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector version 3.2.0version 3.1.0version 3.3.0version 3.4.0 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
9.1 CVSS 3.1 Critical 2.3 6.0 psirt@cisco.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
9.1 CVSS 3.1 Critical — — cisco via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: psirt@cisco.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-78 · OS Command Injection

Other CVEs with this weakness →

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Look for parameters with command/query metacharacters and unexpected child processes of the service.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSapplication logsendpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · cisco/cisco identity services engine software, cisco/cisco ise passive identity connector
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 15, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 9.1
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Awaiting Analysis
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Sep 16, 2026 · cisco

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

1 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Cisco
every CVE for this vendor
Injection
same class
CWE-78
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-76460 Cisco Identity Services Engine Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs Vulnerability KEV 29d
  • CVE-2026-76449 Cisco Identity Services Engine SQL Injection Vulnerability 29d
  • CVE-2026-76450 Cisco Identity Services Engine SQL Injection Vulnerability 29d
  • CVE-2026-76451 Cisco Identity Services Engine Certificate Management SQL Injection Vulnerability 29d
  • CVE-2026-76446 Cisco Identity Services Engine External Entity Injection Vulnerability 29d
  • CVE-2026-76447 Cisco Identity Services Engine Certificate Reload Vulnerability 29d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-20305 is "Cisco Identity Services Engine Command Injection Vulnerability", rated Critical. It affects Cisco Identity Services Engine Software (Cisco); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 9.1 describes technical severity. EPSS 1.41% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

Comments

Moderated technical discussion. Read the community guidelines.

No comments yet.

Sign in or create an account to comment and suggest corrections.