CVE-2026-76428 in Identity Services Engine
Summary
by MITRE • 09/16/2026
A vulnerability in the REST APIs of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct SQL injection attacks against the session database.
This vulnerability is due to certain parameters being concatenated directly into SQL clauses without parameterization. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request that contains SQL statements in one of the affected parameters. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to read information from the session database. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/16/2026
The identified security flaw resides within the REST API interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine and its associated Policy Information Card component, presenting a critical risk vector for authenticated remote attackers. This vulnerability is fundamentally rooted in improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands, commonly classified under CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command. The core technical deficiency involves the direct concatenation of user-supplied input parameters into SQL query clauses without employing parameterized queries or prepared statements. In secure software development practices, inputs should be treated as data rather than executable code to prevent injection attacks. However, in this specific implementation, the application constructs dynamic SQL strings by appending raw user input directly into the command structure. This architectural oversight allows an attacker who has obtained valid administrative credentials to manipulate the intended logic of database queries by injecting malicious SQL syntax through crafted HTTP requests targeting these API endpoints.
The operational impact of exploiting this vulnerability is severe, primarily centering on unauthorized data exfiltration from the session database. The Cisco ISE platform serves as a central hub for network access control and policy enforcement, storing sensitive information regarding user sessions, authentication logs, and potentially other configuration details within its backend databases. By leveraging SQL injection techniques such as UNION-based attacks or error-based extraction, an attacker can retrieve arbitrary data rows from the session database that were not intended to be exposed via the API. This breach of confidentiality compromises the integrity of identity management operations and may reveal sensitive user identifiers, network access patterns, or other proprietary information stored within the system. The requirement for administrative credentials limits the attack surface to insider threats or scenarios where attacker privileges have been escalated through prior compromise, but it does not mitigate the severity once those credentials are obtained.
From a tactical perspective, this vulnerability aligns with MITRE ATT&CK technique T1190: Exploit Public-Facing Application, specifically when applied against internal-facing APIs that require authentication. It also relates to T1213: Data from Information Repositories, as the ultimate goal of the exploitation is to extract structured data from a database system. The attack vector involves sending specially crafted HTTP requests containing SQL payloads in specific parameters, which are then processed by the backend application logic without adequate sanitization or validation checks that would distinguish between legitimate input and malicious code structures.
To mitigate this risk, immediate remediation should focus on applying vendor-provided patches that address the underlying coding flaw within the REST API implementation. Until such updates are applied, organizations should enforce strict network segmentation to limit access to ISE management interfaces only from trusted administrative subnets. Additionally, implementing Web Application Firewalls with rules capable of detecting SQL injection patterns in HTTP request parameters can provide a layer of defense-in-depth by blocking malicious payloads before they reach the application logic. Input validation strategies must be rigorously enforced at all API entry points, ensuring that any data received is validated against expected formats and types. Furthermore, adhering to the principle of least privilege ensures that administrative accounts are protected with multi-factor authentication and monitored for anomalous activity, reducing the likelihood of credential compromise leading to exploitation of this SQL injection vulnerability.