EUVD-2026-34341
GHSA-h4c6-cm2m-h5f6
Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessObtain netadmin credentials
-
DeliveryAccess SD-WAN Manager CLI
-
ExploitUpload crafted file with injected commands
-
ExecutionTrigger command injection as root
-
PersistPush malicious config to edge devices
-
ImpactCompromise WAN fabric
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Output encoding for downstream
|
| Exploitation Conditions | The attacker must already hold netadmin role privileges on the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager instance (consistent with the CVSS PR:L) and must have local CLI access to upload a crafted file - there is no remote unauthenticated path. Cisco explicitly states valid netadmin credentials are required, obtained either legitimately or by exploiting other vulnerabilities referenced (but redacted) in the advisory text. UI:N means no second user needs to interact, but the limiting factors are significant: the target must be a Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager / vManage deployment, the attacker must reach the CLI interface (typically restricted to management networks), and the account used must have the netadmin role rather than a lower-privileged operator role. |
| Impact | The CVSS 7.8 score with vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H reflects a local, low-complexity attack requiring low privileges with no user interaction, yielding full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. The realistic risk is elevated by Cisco's own disclosure that limited exploitation has already been observed in which attackers used the bug to push malicious configuration changes to edge devices - effectively turning a single management-plane compromise into a fleet-wide impact - though this exploitation is not yet reflected in CISA KEV and no EPSS score was provided in the input. The PR:L requirement (netadmin) is a meaningful gate that argues against opportunistic mass exploitation, but netadmin credentials are commonly obtained via phishing, credential reuse, or chaining with other vulnerabilities (the description appears to reference companion CVEs whose IDs were stripped from the input), so this should be treated as a high-priority patch for any organization running SD-WAN Manager rather than a theoretical risk. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has obtained netadmin credentials - through phishing, credential reuse, or chaining with a separate authentication-bypass vulnerability referenced in the Cisco advisory - logs into the SD-WAN Manager CLI and uploads a file containing crafted shell metacharacters in a field that is later passed unsanitized to a shell command. The injected payload executes as root on the SD-WAN Manager appliance, after which the attacker leverages that root position to push attacker-controlled configuration to downstream edge routers, exactly matching the limited exploitation pattern Cisco has already observed. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jun 04, 2026
Local privilege escalation in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (formerly SD-WAN vManage) allows an authenticated netadmin user to execute arbitrary commands as root by uploading a crafted file through the CLI. Cisco has observed limited real-world exploitation that resulted in unauthorized configuration changes being pushed to downstream edge devices, though the issue is not currently listed in CISA KEV and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Patch available per vendor advisory - upgrade Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager to the fixed release identified in Cisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-sdwan-privesc-4uxFrdzx (https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sdwan-privesc-4uxFrdzx) published May 14, 2026, and additionally review cisco-sa-sdwan-rpa2-v69WY2SW for related fixes. Because Cisco has observed exploitation resulting in malicious configuration pushes to edge devices, after upgrading administrators should audit edge-device running configurations against known-good baselines and revert any unauthorized changes. Cisco does not document a workaround for this CLI flaw, so compensating controls until patching is complete should focus on tightly restricting netadmin role assignments, enforcing MFA on SD-WAN Manager administrative accounts, monitoring CLI file-upload activity and edge-device configuration changes for anomalies, and isolating SD-WAN Manager management interfaces to a dedicated administrative network - noting the trade-off that aggressive access restriction may slow legitimate operations during the upgrade window.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager is the centralized management plane for Cisco's SD-WAN fabric, controlling policy and configuration distribution to edge routers across an enterprise WAN. The vulnerability is rooted in CWE-116 (Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output), where the CLI fails to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied input contained in an uploaded file before it is passed to a shell or command interpreter, enabling command injection. Because SD-WAN Manager runs the CLI process with elevated permissions and the injected commands execute as root, the flaw becomes a full privilege escalation from netadmin to root on the management appliance itself, which then has trusted authority over every edge device in the fabric (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:cisco:cisco_catalyst_sd-wan_manager:*).
Know when Cisco Catalyst Sd Wan Manager gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from Vendor (cisco) · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorVendor: cisco
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage, could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root by supplying a crafted file to the affected system.
This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted file to the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform command injection attacks on an affected system and elevate their privileges as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have netadmin privileges on the affected system. This would require valid credentials or exploitation of or . Cisco is not aware of successful exploitation by other methods. Cisco has observed limited cases where the exploitation of this bug resulted in a configuration change pushed to edge devices. Cisco recommends that customers upgrade to the fixed software that is documented in the that was published on May 14, 2026, and verify the configuration of the edge devices.
Articles & Coverage 2
Executive ViewAI
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2026-20245) that allows authenticated network administrators to execute commands as root and push unauthorized configuration changes to downstream edge devices. Cisco has observed limited real-world exploitation resulting in network configuration tampering, creating risk to SD-WAN infrastructure integrity without available patches.
Implement role-based access controls limiting netadmin accounts to only essential personnel; enable and monitor detailed audit logs for file uploads and configuration changes; restrict CLI access to trusted networks via firewall rules; regularly verify edge device configurations match approved baselines; consider air-gapping or read-only access for non-emergency operations until patched.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
CISA KEV
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands.
Remote unauthenticated attackers can bypass peering authentication in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller (vSmart) and SD-W
Authentication bypass in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (vManage) allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to reach a re
Arbitrary file write via path traversal in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (formerly SD-WAN vManage) allows an authenticat
Privilege escalation and cross-boundary information disclosure in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager and SD-WAN Controller st
Privilege escalation and authentication-boundary bypass in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager and SD-WAN Controller allows a
Privileged file manipulation in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager and SD-WAN Controller allows an authenticated attacker to
Cleartext storage of sensitive information in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller and Manager exposes credentials or other
Remote file disclosure in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager allows unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary system files
Remote availability disruption in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager and Controller allows a low-privileged authenticated att
Cleartext credential exposure in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager's web-based management interface allows an authenticated
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager's web interface contains a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that require
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager web UI fails to properly redact sensitive information in device configurations and templat
Exploit-DB