Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution in ServiceNow AI Platform
CVSS 4.0
9.5critical
EPSS
78%p100
Published
()
Modified
AI analysis
ServiceNow has patched a critical, unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-94, code injection) in the ServiceNow AI platform that is reachable over the network without credentials or user interaction, though exploitation requires certain circumstances to be met (CVSS 4.0 attack complexity is high). A remote attacker who successfully triggers the flaw can execute code within the ServiceNow platform, with potentially high impact on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the instance and its data. Both ServiceNow-hosted (SaaS) instances and self-hosted customer and partner deployments are affected; hosted instances were fixed via a centrally deployed security update, while self-hosted customers and partners must apply the provided security updates or patched family releases themselves. ServiceNow's advisory states it was not initially aware of exploitation, but subsequent security reporting indicates this pre-auth RCE has been exploited in the wild. There is no known public proof-of-concept and the flaw is not yet in CISA's KEV catalog, but EPSS assigns a 77.6% probability of exploitation within 30 days.
What to do: Self-hosted customers and partners should immediately apply the released security updates or upgrade to the patched family releases, as specific affected version numbers were not disclosed. Hosted customers should verify with ServiceNow that their instance received the centrally deployed update and confirm their current patch level. Given reports of in-the-wild exploitation, review instance logs for signs of unauthenticated code execution and restrict external access to instances where feasible.
Affected
ServiceNow AI Platform (hosted/SaaS instances)
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ServiceNow AI Platform (self-hosted customer and partner deployments)
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Estimated exposure
massmillions of end users across tens of thousands of hosted and self-hosted ServiceNow instances (no public count of AI-platform-enabled instances) — Estimated from ServiceNow's customer base of roughly 8,000 large enterprises and government agencies with millions of end users and a SaaS model in which hosted instances are centrally patched; exact counts of instances running the AI…
Order-of-magnitude estimate by the model from install counts, market share and public scan data it knows; verify before quoting.
Description
ServiceNow has addressed a remote code execution vulnerability that was identified in the ServiceNow AI platform. This vulnerability could enable an unauthenticated user, in certain circumstances, to execute code within the ServiceNow platform. ServiceNow addressed this vulnerability by deploying a security update to hosted instances. Relevant security updates have also been provided to ServiceNow self-hosted customers and partners. Further, the vulnerability is addressed in the listed patches and family releases, which have been made available to hosted and self-hosted customers, as well as partners. We are not currently aware of exploitation against ServiceNow instances. We recommend customers promptly apply appropriate updates or upgrade to a patched release if they have not already done so.
ServiceNow patched four AI Platform flaws, including three pre-authentication CVSS 10.0 issues enabling unauthenticated code execution, SQL injection, and privilege escalation.
ServiceNow released patches on August 27, 2026 for four AI Platform flaws: CVE-2026-18885 (code injection in the GraphQL Composite Data API), CVE-2026-18886 (improper access control enabling privilege escalation), and CVE-2026-74820 (SQL injection), all self-rated CVSS 10.0 and exploitable without authentication, plus CVE-2026-6876, an 8.7 sandbox escape. Updates were deployed to hosted instances, but self-hosted customers must patch affected Xanadu, Yokohama, Zurich, and Australia release lines themselves. ServiceNow says it is not aware of exploitation of the new flaws, and no public exploit code existed as of August 28, 2026; separately, Defused reported in-the-wild exploitation of the earlier CVE-2026-6875 (CVSS 9.5), later noting the captured payload matched Searchlight Cyber's PoC.