Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller up to 6.2(2e) Web-based Management API os command injection

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller up to 6.2(2e) and classified as problematic. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the component Web-based Management API. This manipulation causes os command injection. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-20321. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller up to 6.2(2e) and classified as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown part of the component Web-based Management API. 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. The summary by CVE is:

A vulnerability in the web-based management API for Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of user-controlled command arguments. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating using the API and sending crafted input. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device with root-level privileges.

It is possible to read the advisory at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-20321 since 10/08/2025. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation requires an enhanced level of successful authentication. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/07/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1202 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Vendor

• Cisco

Name

• Application Policy Infrastructure Controller

Version

• 5.3(1d)
• 5.3(2a)
• 5.3(2b)
• 5.3(2c)
• 5.3(2d)
• 5.3(2e)
• 5.3(2f)
• 6.1(5e)
• 6.2(1f)
• 6.2(1g)
• 6.2(2e)

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.cisco.com/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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