AI analysis
CVE-2026-20212 (CVSS 9.8, CWE-1327) is a critical flaw in the Silicon One integration for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches: TCP ports 43210 and 43211 are exposed in the default Layer 3 VRF, allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker with network reachability to those ports to send crafted input that is executed as code with root privileges. Exploitation can also crash the S1HAL process, forcing the device to reload. Affected devices are Nexus 9000 switches that use the Silicon One integration; other Nexus deployments are not implicated in this data. No public proof-of-concept, KEV listing, or confirmed in-the-wild exploitation is known at this time, and EPSS estimates only about a 0.5% probability of exploitation within 30 days.
What to do: Inventory your Nexus 9000 fleet to identify Silicon One–integrated models and test whether TCP ports 43210/43211 are reachable in the default L3 VRF (e.g., nmap the management/default VRF or review interface and control-plane ACLs). Upgrade to the fixed software release listed in Cisco's advisory published September 2, 2026. As an interim mitigation, restrict access to ports 43210 and 43211 via ACLs and monitor for S1HAL process crashes or unexpected device reloads.
Affected
| Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches with Silicon One integration | — |
Estimated exposure
large≈ tens of thousands of deployed switches plausibly in the affected subset (Silicon One–based Nexus 9000 models), of which likely only a few thousand have TCP… — Cisco leads the data-center switching market with a very large Nexus 9000 install base and public internet scans show thousands of exposed Nexus units, but direct exposure is limited to Silicon One–integrated models where the default L3…
Order-of-magnitude estimate by the model from install counts, market share and public scan data it knows; verify before quoting.
Description
A vulnerability in the Silicon One integration for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute code with root privileges. This vulnerability exists because TCP ports 43210 and 43211 are accessible in the default Layer 3 (L3) virtual routing and forwarding (VRF). A successful exploit could allow the attacker to connect to an affected device and send crafted input that could be executed as code with root privileges. The exploitation of this vulnerability could also cause the S1HAL process to crash, which could cause the device to reload.