Cisco Identity Services Engine Software up to 3.5.0 os command injection

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Cisco Identity Services Engine Software and classified as very critical. This issue affects some unknown processing. Executing a manipulation can lead to os command injection. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-20176. The attack can be launched remotely. No exploit exists. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Cisco Identity Services Engine Software and classified as very critical. This vulnerability affects an unknown code. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a os command injection vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-78. The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

A vulnerability in Cisco ISE could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid high-privileged administrative credentials. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain system-level access to the underlying operating system and then elevate privileges to root. In single-node deployments, successful exploitation of this vulnerability could cause the affected ISE node to become unavailable, resulting in a DoS condition. In that condition, endpoints that have not already authenticated would be unable to access the network until the node is restored.

The advisory is available at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-20176 since 10/08/2025. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. Additional levels of successful authentication are required for exploitation. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not available. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/16/2026). This vulnerability is assigned to T1202 by the MITRE ATT&CK project.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Type

• Policy Management Software

Vendor

• Cisco

Name

• Identity Services Engine Software

Version

• 3.1.0
• 3.1.0 p1
• 3.1.0 p2
• 3.1.0 p3
• 3.1.0 p4
• 3.1.0 p5
• 3.1.0 p6
• 3.1.0 p7
• 3.1.0 p8
• 3.1.0 p9
• 3.1.0 p10
• 3.1.0 p11
• 3.1.0 p72
• 3.2.0
• 3.2.0 p1
• 3.2.0 p2
• 3.2.0 p3
• 3.2.0 p4
• 3.2.0 p5
• 3.2.0 p6
• 3.2.0 p7
• 3.3.0
• 3.4.0
• 3.5.0

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.cisco.com/

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