ZeroHour

CVE-2026-20262

KEVlarge

Authenticated Path Traversal File Overwrite in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager

CISA: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Directory or Path Traversal Vulnerability

CVSS 3.1
6.5 medium
EPSS
28%p98
Published
()
KEV added
AI analysis

CVE-2026-20262 is a directory/path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, the central management component of Cisco's enterprise SD-WAN solution. An authenticated, remote attacker can supply crafted input containing traversal sequences that escape the intended directory, allowing the attacker to create a new file or overwrite any file on the affected system's filesystem. Overwriting arbitrary files can enable configuration tampering, persistence, or privilege escalation on the management appliance depending on which file is targeted. Any organization running Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager is affected, with greatest risk where the management interface is reachable by broad user populations or from the internet. CISA added the flaw to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-06-15, indicating exploitation in the wild; no public proof-of-concept is known, ransomware association is unknown, CVSS is not yet scored, and EPSS assigns a 28.2% probability of exploitation within 30 days (98th percentile).

What to do: Apply the fixed release per Cisco's advisory (specific fixed versions are not provided in this data set, so consult Cisco's security notice) and follow CISA's KEV required action, including BOD 26-04 timelines for federal agencies and cloud service use. Until patched, restrict access to the SD-WAN Manager management interface to trusted management networks, enforce strong authentication, and audit the filesystem for unexpectedly created or recently modified files that could indicate exploitation. Evaluate each instance's internet exposure and prioritize internet-reachable management appliances for immediate remediation.

Affected
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager
Estimated exposure
largetens of thousands of enterprise management deployments (roughly 10k-100k systems) — Cisco is the market-leading enterprise SD-WAN vendor, and Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (formerly vManage) is deployed as a management plane in each customer SD-WAN fabric, implying an install base in the tens of thousands, though exact counts…

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 web UI of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage, could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to create a file or overwrite any file on the filesystem of an affected system. This vulnerability exists because the affected software does not properly validate user-supplied input during a file upload process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected API endpoint of the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to create or overwrite any file on the underlying operating system. This file could later be used to elevate to root. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid credentials with at least a lower-privileged, single-task user account.

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability
Affected
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager
Required action
Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.
Due date
Ransomware use
Unknown
Vendors
cisco
Products
catalyst sd-wan manager
Weakness
CWE-22
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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