What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-20129?

CVE-2026-20129 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.1%.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-20129?

Within 24 hours: Isolate affected SD-WAN Manager instances from untrusted networks and restrict API access to known administrator IP ranges. Within 7 days: Implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement if compromise occurs, and enable comprehensive API logging and monitoring for suspicious authentication attempts. Within 30 days: Evaluate alternative SD-WAN solutions or request a vendor security timeline, and conduct forensic analysis for indicators of compromise on affected systems.

Catalyst Sd Wan Manager CVE-2026-20129

CRITICAL

Improper Authentication (CWE-287)

2026-02-25 psirt@cisco.com

Cisco Catalyst Sd Wan Manager

9.8

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

Access

Send crafted API request to SD-WAN Manager
Exploit

Bypass authentication validation
Execution

Assume netadmin role privileges
Impact

Execute administrative commands

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-287 OWASP Top 10:2025 A07:2025 - Authentication Failures ASVS 5.0 V6 - Authentication Authentication mechanism validation MITRE ATT&CK 2 techniques across 2 tactics: Defense Evasion, Initial Access The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Exploitation Conditions	Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager versions prior to 20.18 with API endpoint exposed to network. No authentication credentials required for exploitation.
Impact	CVSS 9.8. SD-WAN Manager controls the entire WAN infrastructure — API access enables configuration changes, policy modifications, and device management.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	Unauthenticated attacker accesses SD-WAN Manager API, modifies routing policies, pushes malicious configurations to edge devices, or extracts network topology.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.

No patch listed yet 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026

Authentication bypass in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager API allows unauthenticated remote access to the management platform. Separate vulnerability from the peering auth bypass (CVE-2026-20127).

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)

v1 Mar 12, 2026 - 21:55 CVSS 9.8

API authentication bypass in Cisco SD-WAN Manager.

RemediationAI

Apply Cisco security update. Restrict SD-WAN Manager API access.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

CWE-287 authentication bypass in the SD-WAN Manager API. Unauthenticated attackers can access management functions.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

DescriptionCVE.org

A vulnerability in the API user authentication of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain access to an affected system as a user who has the netadmin role.

The vulnerability is due to improper authentication for requests that are sent to the API. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the API of an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands with the privileges of the netadmin role. Note: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager releases 20.18 and later are not affected by this vulnerability. 

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

An unauthenticated attacker can remotely compromise Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager and gain administrative access without credentials, potentially enabling full network control and data exfiltration. This affects any organization using SD-WAN for critical network infrastructure, with no patch currently available.

Business Impact: Severe

Compensating Controls

Restrict network access to SD-WAN Manager API endpoints via firewall rules to authorized administrator IPs only; disable public internet accessibility; implement WAF rules to block unauthenticated API requests; segment SD-WAN management infrastructure on isolated VLANs; enable detailed audit logging of all API access attempts; deploy intrusion detection/prevention systems to monitor for exploitation attempts; consider disabling API access if not operationally required until patch availability.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.1%

Top 65% exploitable

Data Quality

3 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS CERT-EU

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity CRITICAL

CISA KEV No

Public POC No

EPSS 0.1%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

CRITICAL severity

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Out-of-Cycle

Exploitation· derived

None

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Yes

Human Impact

Very High

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: 0

CVSS: +49

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:cisco:catalyst_sd-wan_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:cisco:catalyst_sd-wan_manager:20.12.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More in Catalyst Sd Wan Manager

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Same weakness CWE-287 – Improper Authentication

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CVE-2017-7921 CRITICAL POC

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References

Advisories & patches

ADVISORY https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-authbp-qwCX8D4v

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GitHub PoC

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