CVE-2026-20182
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
Exploited in the wild. In CISA KEV since 2026‑05‑14. Fixed in 20.9.9.1.
What to do
Find your product and version, then upgrade to the build on the right.
- Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN ManagerAffected: 20.1.12Upgrade to: not statedAffected: 19.2.1Upgrade to: not statedAffected: 18.4.4Upgrade to: not statedAffected: 18.4.5Upgrade to: not stated + 30 more branchesStated by: CVE record
- Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN ControllerAffected: 20.6.4Upgrade to: not statedAffected: 20.9.2Upgrade to: not statedAffected: 20.3.6Upgrade to: not statedAffected: 20.7.2Upgrade to: not stated + 125 more branchesStated by: CVE record
- Cisco Sd-wan Vbond OrchestratorAffected: < 20.9.9.1Upgrade to: 20.9.9.1Stated by: NVD
- Cisco Sd-wan Vsmart ControllerAffected: < 20.9.9.1Upgrade to: 20.9.9.1Stated by: NVD
Versions as the sources state them. Full version matrix after sign-in
Steps
Written by AI from the record- 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.
- In each system, verify your installed version and whether it is earlier than 20.9.9.1.
- 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).
- If you cannot patch immediately, restrict network access to the SD-WAN control interfaces (allow only trusted sources) until you can upgrade.
- Review logs and alerting for unusual authentication/peering activity around the control-plane interaction after any changes, and confirm services remain stable after upgrading.
Coverage timeline
4 publishersExploitation reported in the wild
Vendor patch released
Technical analysis published
Added to CISA KEV catalog
Sourced from public security reporting — each date is when it was published, not when it happened. 11 further articles named this CVE in wider roundups without reporting it as a distinct event.
What it is
From the CVE record
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
Written by AI from the recordA 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.
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 you're affected
- Full SD-WAN configuration takeover
- Network disruption or outage
- Unauthorized traffic redirection
- Administrative control loss
Exploitation
Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.
- CISA KEV
Listed as exploited in the wild since 2026-05-14.
US federal agencies must remediate by 2026-05-17.
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.
- Public exploits
0 sources with a proof of concept or module.
Exploit links, PoCs and Metasploit modules after sign-in- EPSS
92% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 99th percentile of scored CVEs.
Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.
- Attention now
Rising.
Lifecycle
13 events over 144 days, from the signal feeds we watch.
- Analysis publishedOne Encoded Character Gets You Admin on Cisco's SD-WAN Manager. It's the Fifth Time That's Happened in 2026.
- Analysis publishedThe guardian is the gateway: 2026's exploited-bug list is a map of the security products we trusted
- EPSS band changehigh → criticalepss band change
- OpenVAS check added
- Patch availablerecord updated
- EPSS band changemoderate → high
Affected products
And 2 more affected products. See all after sign-in
Technical detail
CVSS 3.1 vector
Open in the CVSS calculatorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Scored 10.0 by NVD.
How it is reached
- Attack Vector NetworkExploitable remotely over the network without any special conditions
- Attack Complexity LowNo special conditions — the attack can be reliably reproduced
- Privileges Required NoneNo authentication required — anyone can exploit this
- User Interaction NoneNo user interaction needed — fully automated exploitation
Scope
- Scope ChangedThe exploit can affect other components (e.g. sandbox escape, host compromise from VM)
Impact if exploited
- Confidentiality HighTotal information disclosure — all data in the component is compromised
- Integrity HighTotal loss of integrity — attacker can modify any data in the component
- Availability HighTotal denial of service — the component is completely unavailable
Weaknesses
ATT&CK techniques
Mapped from the weaknesses above (CWE to ATT&CK), not observed in attacks.
Sources
References in the record
- sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-rpa2-v69WY2SW
- cisa.gov/sites/default/files/csv/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.csv
- sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-rpa-EHchtZk
And 1 more reference. See all after sign-in
Analysis on the cve.tools blog
- One Encoded Character Gets You Admin on Cisco's SD-WAN Manager. It's the Fifth Time That's Happened in 2026.On September 30, 2026, Cisco disclosed CVE-2026-76504: an unauthenticated, remote authentication bypass in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, the web console that holds admin rights over an entire SD-WAN…
- The guardian is the gateway: 2026's exploited-bug list is a map of the security products we trustedThere is a comfortable story we tell ourselves: buy a security box, and the attack surface gets smaller. For most of 2026, the exploited-in-the-wild list has been telling a different one. The guardians are the gate now — and the common thread across the year's most-attacked machines isn't a bug class, it's a target class.
- Cisco SD-WAN root access: inside CVE-2026-20245, exploited for months before disclosureCisco's Catalyst SD-WAN management plane took another hit. CVE-2026-20245 lets an authenticated attacker who already holds netadmin rights run arbitrary commands as root on SD-WAN Controller…
In the news
All news- Cisco Warns of Attackers Exploiting Critical Authentication Bypass in SD-WAN Manager
- Cisco SD-WAN Zero-Day Exploited Months Before Patching
- Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Zero-Day CVE-2026-20245 Exploited to Gain Root Access
- Mandiant reveals how Cisco SD-WAN zero-day attacks gained root access
- Attackers Hit Cisco SD-WAN Flaw 2 Months Before Disclosure
- Cisco Patches Another SD-WAN Zero-Day Exploited in Attacks
- Cisco Releases Security Updates for Actively Exploited SD-WAN Manager Flaw
- Cisco fixes SD-WAN vManage flaw exploited in zero-day attacks
- Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager CVE-2026-20245 Flaw Actively Exploited – No Patch Available
- Cisco warns of unpatched SD-WAN zero-day exploited in attacks
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