Cisco Identity Services Engine insufficiently protected credentials

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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Current Exploit Price (≈)
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CTI Interest Score
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9.3$0-$5k1.35+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, was found in Cisco Identity Services Engine and ISE Passive Identity Connector. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality. The manipulation results in insufficiently protected credentials. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2026-20234. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Cisco Identity Services Engine and ISE Passive Identity Connector (affected version not known). Affected is some unknown functionality. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a insufficiently protected credentials vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-522. The product transmits or stores authentication credentials, but it uses an insecure method that is susceptible to unauthorized interception and/or retrieval. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

As part of Cisco's ongoing commitment to proactive security and product quality, the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) engineering teams have conducted a comprehensive internal security review. This review resulted in a software hardening release that addresses multiple internally discovered vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities tracked by CVE-2026-20234 are related to insufficiently protected credentials issues that are grouped under the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) Pillar CWE-522.

The advisory is shared for download at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-20234 since 10/08/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. Additional levels of successful authentication are needed for exploitation. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 09/16/2026). The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1552.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.3

VulDB Base Score: 9.1
VulDB Temp Score: 8.7
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CNA Base Score: 9.9
CNA Vector (cisco): 🔒

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Insufficiently protected credentials
CWE: CWE-522
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Timelineinfo

10/08/2025 CVE reserved
09/16/2026 +343 days Advisory disclosed
09/16/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/16/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: cisco.com

Advisory: sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-20234 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-20234
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-406044

Entryinfo

Created: 09/16/2026 19:24
Changes: 09/16/2026 19:24 (63)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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