{"id":"CVE-2026-20182","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-20182"],"related":[],"title":"May 2026: This security advisory provides the details and fix information for a vulnerability that was discovered…","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.&nbsp;\r\n\r\nA 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.\r\nThis 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.","summary":"Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller and Manager contain an authentication bypass that lets an unauthenticated remote attacker gain administrative privileges on the affected system. CISA lists it as actively exploited in the wild.","severity":"critical","cvss":10.0,"epss":null,"exploited":true,"exploited_at":"2026-05-14T00:00:00+00:00","products":[{"name":"Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco catalyst sd-wan manager","fixed":["20.9.9.1"],"affected":"< 20.9.9.1","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco catalyst sd-wan manager","fixed":["20.12.5.4"],"affected":">= 20.10, < 20.12.5.4","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco catalyst sd-wan manager","fixed":["20.12.6.2"],"affected":">= 20.12.6, < 20.12.6.2","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco catalyst sd-wan manager","fixed":["20.15.4.4"],"affected":">= 20.13, < 20.15.4.4","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco catalyst sd-wan manager","fixed":["20.15.5.2"],"affected":">= 20.15.5, < 20.15.5.2","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco catalyst sd-wan manager","fixed":["20.18.2.2"],"affected":">= 20.16, < 20.18.2.2","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco catalyst sd-wan manager","fixed":["26.1.1.1"],"affected":">= 26.1, < 26.1.1.1","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco catalyst sd-wan manager","fixed":[],"affected":"= 20.12.7","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vbond orchestrator","fixed":["20.9.9.1"],"affected":"< 20.9.9.1","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vbond orchestrator","fixed":["20.12.5.4"],"affected":">= 20.10, < 20.12.5.4","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vbond orchestrator","fixed":["20.12.6.2"],"affected":">= 20.12.6, < 20.12.6.2","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vbond orchestrator","fixed":["20.15.4.4"],"affected":">= 20.13, < 20.15.4.4","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vbond orchestrator","fixed":["20.15.5.2"],"affected":">= 20.15.5, < 20.15.5.2","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vbond orchestrator","fixed":["20.18.2.2"],"affected":">= 20.16, < 20.18.2.2","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vbond orchestrator","fixed":["26.1.1.1"],"affected":">= 26.1, < 26.1.1.1","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vbond orchestrator","fixed":[],"affected":"= 20.12.7","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vsmart controller","fixed":["20.9.9.1"],"affected":"< 20.9.9.1","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vsmart controller","fixed":["20.12.5.4"],"affected":">= 20.10, < 20.12.5.4","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vsmart controller","fixed":["20.12.6.2"],"affected":">= 20.12.6, < 20.12.6.2","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vsmart controller","fixed":["20.15.4.4"],"affected":">= 20.13, < 20.15.4.4","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vsmart controller","fixed":["20.15.5.2"],"affected":">= 20.15.5, < 20.15.5.2","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vsmart controller","fixed":["20.18.2.2"],"affected":">= 20.16, < 20.18.2.2","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vsmart controller","fixed":["26.1.1.1"],"affected":">= 26.1, < 26.1.1.1","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"cisco sd-wan vsmart controller","fixed":[],"affected":"= 20.12.7","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["cisco-catalyst-sd-wan","exploited","infrastructure","sd-wan-controller","sd-wan-manager","self-hosted"],"not_affected_if":["no-sd-wan-controller-deployed"],"how_to_check":null,"fix":null,"status":"open","published_at":"2026-05-14T00:00:00+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:51+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T20:35:40+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T23:44:51+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.8,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T20:35:40Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"unknown. CISA guidance referenced in sources: follow Emergency Directive 26-03 and CISA's Hunt & Hardening Guidance for Cisco SD-WAN Devices; the sources do not name a fixed version.","summary":"Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller and Manager contain an authentication bypass that lets an unauthenticated remote attacker gain administrative privileges on the affected system. CISA lists it as actively exploited in the wild.","category":"infrastructure","who_cares":["cisco-catalyst-sd-wan","sd-wan-controller","sd-wan-manager","self-hosted"],"confidence":0.8,"analyst_note":"Pull affected and fixed versions and mitigation steps from Cisco's advisory and CISA ED 26-03 and the Hunt & Hardening Guidance; sources here give neither.","how_to_check":"unknown","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["no-sd-wan-controller-deployed"],"severity_if_unknown":"critical"},"cost_usd":0.000401,"input_tokens":2214,"output_tokens":360,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-20182':20A,23A '-2026':19A,22A '2026':2A,226C,250C 'access':403C 'account':396C,399C 'activ':220B 'administr':210B,331C 'advisori':5A,229C,253C,268C 'affect':214B,335C,347C,365C,379C 'allow':321C,371C,408C 'attack':208B,325C,354C,373C,401C,410C 'authent':201B,284C,328C,343C 'bypass':202B,327C 'catalyst':25A,30A,36A,42A,48A,54A,60A,66A,72A,175B,192B,287C,298C,310C,381C 'check':278C 'cisa':216B 'cisco':24A,29A,35A,41A,47A,53A,59A,65A,71A,77A,83A,89A,95A,101A,107A,113A,119A,125A,131A,137A,143A,149A,155A,161A,167A,174B,191B,286C,297C,309C,380C 'cisco-catalyst-sd-wan':173B 'configur':414C 'connect':262C,272C 'contain':199B 'control':183B,196B,261C,271C,291C,385C 'controller':130A,136A,142A,148A,154A,160A,166A,172A 'could':320C,355C,370C,402C 'craft':361C 'cve':18A,21A 'detail':8A,232C 'disclos':247C 'discov':17A,241C 'exist':339C 'exploit':178B,221B,356C,369C 'fabric':420C 'februari':249C 'fix':10A,234C,243C 'former':292C,303C,315C 'gain':209B 'guidanc':273C 'handshak':263C 'help':275C 'high':390C 'high-privileg':389C 'host':190B 'includ':269C 'inform':11A,235C 'infrastructur':179B 'intern':388C 'let':204B 'list':217B 'log':375C 'manag':187B,198B,302C 'manager':34A,40A,46A,52A,58A,64A,70A,76A 'manipul':412C 'may':1A,225C 'mechan':344C 'netconf':404C 'network':413C 'new':252C,257C 'non':393C 'non-root':392C 'obtain':330C 'orchestrator':82A,88A,94A,100A,106A,112A,118A,124A 'peer':283C,342C 'privileg':211B,332C,391C 'proper':352C 'provid':6A,230C 'remot':207B,324C 'request':362C 'root':394C 'sd':27A,32A,38A,44A,50A,56A,62A,68A,74A,79A,85A,91A,97A,103A,109A,115A,121A,127A,133A,139A,145A,151A,157A,163A,169A,176B,181B,185B,194B,289C,294C,300C,305C,312C,317C,383C,418C 'sd-wan':26A,31A,37A,43A,49A,55A,61A,67A,73A,78A,84A,90A,96A,102A,108A,114A,120A,126A,132A,138A,144A,150A,156A,162A,168A,193B,288C,293C,299C,304C,311C,316C,382C,417C 'sd-wan-control':180B 'sd-wan-manag':184B 'section':265C 'secur':4A,228C 'self':189B 'self-host':188B 'send':360C 'show':270C 'success':368C 'system':215B,277C,336C,348C,366C 'unauthent':206B,323C 'use':397C 'user':395C 'valid':314C 'vbond':81A,87A,93A,99A,105A,111A,117A,123A,319C 'vmanag':307C 'vsmart':129A,135A,141A,147A,153A,159A,165A,171A,296C 'vulner':14A,238C,258C,280C,338C,358C 'wan':28A,33A,39A,45A,51A,57A,63A,69A,75A,80A,86A,92A,98A,104A,110A,116A,122A,128A,134A,140A,146A,152A,158A,164A,170A,177B,182B,186B,195B,290C,295C,301C,306C,313C,318C,384C,419C 'wild':224B 'work':351C 'would':406C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":null,"verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2026-05-14T00:00:00+00:00","kev":{"dateAdded":"2026-05-14","dueDate":"2026-05-17","requiredAction":"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.","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Unknown"},"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"psirt@cisco.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"kev","external_id":"CVE-2026-20182","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2026-20182","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-05-14T00:00:00+00:00","modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:51+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-25T11:39:14+00:00","note":null},{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-20182","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20182","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-05-14T17:16:19+00:00","modified_at":"2026-06-17T15:06:02+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T23:44:51+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T23:44:51+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}