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CVE-2026-20182

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Published: May 14, 2026Updated: Jun 17, 2026 Sources: CVE List NVD BDUCWE-287
10.0CRITICAL
NVD MITRE
EPSS Score
90.3%
Top 0.2%
CISA KEV
Active Exploitation
Since May 14, 2026
Exploits
0 Known
Remediation
Patch Available
Self-Check
Nuclei · OpenVAS

Description

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.  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.

In plain language

AI Act now

A remote attacker may bypass login on Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller products and take over administrative access, so typical small businesses using these systems should treat it as an urgent fix.

Executive summary

CVE-2026-20182 is an authentication bypass in the peering authentication mechanism of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller (and related SD-WAN Controller/Manager/VBond components), allowing unauthenticated remote crafted requests to bypass authentication and obtain administrative privileges.

If affected, business impact
Full SD-WAN configuration takeoverNetwork disruption or outageUnauthorized traffic redirectionAdministrative control loss

What to do now

  1. Check whether you run any of these products: catalyst sd-wan manager, cisco catalyst sd-wan controller, sd-wan vbond orchestrator, sd-wan vsmart controller.
  2. In each system, verify your installed version and whether it is earlier than 20.9.9.1.
  3. Upgrade the affected component(s) to the fixed version 20.9.9.1 (catalyst sd-wan manager, sd-wan vbond orchestrator, and sd-wan vsmart controller).
  4. If you cannot patch immediately, restrict network access to the SD-WAN control interfaces (allow only trusted sources) until you can upgrade.
  5. Review logs and alerting for unusual authentication/peering activity around the control-plane interaction after any changes, and confirm services remain stable after upgrading.
Patch / advisory Usually a quick update

CVSS Vector Breakdown

AV:NAC:LPR:NUI:NS:CC:HI:HA:H
Exploitability
AV:NAttack Vector
Network
AC:LAttack Complexity
Low
PR:NPrivileges Required
None
UI:NUser Interaction
None
Scope
S:CScope
Changed
Impact
C:HConfidentiality
High
I:HIntegrity
High
A:HAvailability
High
Open in CVSS calculator →

Weaknesses

CWE-287

Affected Products

Cisco Systems Inc.
commercial·USaka Cisco, cisco systems
Catalyst SD-WAN Manager
Networking Infrastructure
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller
Networking Infrastructure
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager
Networking Infrastructure
sd-wan vbond orchestrator
Networking Infrastructure
sd-wan vsmart controller
Networking Infrastructure
and 2 more affected products View all →

Exploitability

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability
Added to KEV:May 14, 2026
Remediation due:May 17, 2026

Required action: 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.

0 exploit sources identified

Exploit details including PoC links, Metasploit modules, and scanner templates are available after registration.

View exploit details
Official Patch Available
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Attack Graph

Products CVE Techniques Tactics

Click technique nodes for MITRE ATT&CK details · drag to pan · Ctrl/⌘ + scroll to zoom, or go fullscreen.

MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques
Initial Access
View detailed technique mapping

References

https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-rpa2-v69WY2SW
sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/csv/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.csv
cisa.gov
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-rpa-EHchtZk
sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
and 1 more references View all →
News mentions
15
See all →

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