CVE-2026-76477 in Emergency Responder
Summary
by MITRE • 10/21/2026
As part of Cisco's ongoing commitment to proactive security and product quality, engineering teams for Cisco Emergency Responder, Cisco Prime Collaboration Deployment, Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM & Presence Service (Unified CM IM&P), Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (Unified CM SME), and Cisco Unity Connection have conducted a comprehensive internal security review. This review resulted in software hardening releases that address multiple internally discovered vulnerabilities.
The vulnerabilities tracked by CVE-2026-76477 are related to issues concerning improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL command that are grouped under the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) Base CWE-89.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2026
Cisco has released software hardening updates for a suite of unified communications and collaboration products, including Cisco Emergency Responder, Cisco Prime Collaboration Deployment, Cisco Unified Communications Manager, its IM & Presence Service variant, Session Management Edition, and Unity Connection. These releases are the result of comprehensive internal security reviews aimed at addressing multiple internally discovered vulnerabilities. The primary focus of this update is to mitigate risks associated with improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands, a flaw categorized under Common Weakness Enumeration identifier CWE-89. This vulnerability class represents one of the most prevalent and dangerous types of software defects, allowing attackers to interfere with database queries by injecting malicious code through user input fields that are not properly sanitized or validated before being processed by the backend database engine.
The technical nature of this flaw involves a failure in input validation mechanisms within the affected applications. When these systems process data submitted by users or other services, they fail to adequately escape or filter special characters such as single quotes, semicolons, and comment markers that hold specific meaning in SQL syntax. This oversight allows an attacker who can interact with the application's interface to construct malicious input strings. By carefully crafting this input, a threat actor can alter the intended logic of database queries executed by the backend system. For instance, an attacker might append additional commands to a legitimate query, potentially extracting sensitive data from other tables, modifying existing records, or even executing administrative operations depending on the privileges assigned to the application's database account.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant given the critical role these Cisco products play in enterprise communications infrastructure. Unified Communications Manager and related services handle voice calls, instant messaging presence status, voicemail storage, and call routing configurations that are essential for daily business operations. If exploited successfully, an attacker could gain unauthorized access to sensitive corporate information stored within the database, such as employee contact details, communication logs, or configuration settings. Furthermore, depending on the specific implementation and permissions granted to the application service account, there is a risk of remote code execution if the underlying database management system supports features that allow OS-level command invocation through SQL injection vectors like xp_cmdshell in Microsoft SQL Server environments. This could lead to complete compromise of the server hosting the vulnerable software, disrupting communication services for the entire organization and potentially serving as a foothold for lateral movement within the network.
From an offensive security perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, specifically under Injection attacks (T1190) and SQL Injection sub-techniques such as Blind SQLi or Second Order SQLi depending on how the input is processed over time. Attackers would typically target web interfaces, API endpoints, or administrative consoles exposed to untrusted networks where they can submit crafted payloads. The success of exploitation relies heavily on the attacker's ability to identify vulnerable parameters and test for injection points using standard techniques like boolean-based blind testing or error-based extraction methods.
To mitigate this risk, organizations must immediately apply the provided software hardening releases from Cisco for all affected products listed in their advisory. It is crucial to verify that patches are applied consistently across all components of the unified communications environment, as partial patching can leave gaps in security posture. In addition to applying updates, administrators should review network access controls to ensure that administrative interfaces and database ports are not exposed to untrusted networks such as the public internet or guest Wi-Fi segments. Implementing Web Application Firewalls with updated signatures for SQL injection patterns can provide an additional layer of defense by blocking malicious payloads before they reach the application logic. Regular security audits, code reviews focusing on input validation practices, and adherence to secure coding standards like those outlined in OWASP guidelines are recommended preventive measures for future development cycles to prevent similar weaknesses from being introduced into critical infrastructure software.