Hackers Exploit Critical Cisco ISE Flaw to Bypass Authentication and Gain Root Access
Cisco patched CVE-2026-76460, a CVSS 10.0 authentication bypass in ISE and ISE-PIC that can grant unauthenticated attackers root access.
Cisco's advisory cisco-sa-ISE-ABP-VNSW7Tn5 (September 16, 2026) describes CVE-2026-76460, insufficient authentication controls (CWE-648) on an exposed API endpoint in Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC, rated CVSS 10.0. Successful exploitation lets an unauthenticated remote attacker bypass management interface authentication and potentially obtain command-and-control with root privileges, enabling log tampering and persistence. Software updates are available with no workarounds; Cisco urges prioritized patching, log review for suspicious usernames, and reimaging of suspect nodes.
- CVE-2026-76460 scores CVSS 10.0; CWE-648 incorrect use of privileged APIs
- Affects Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC regardless of configuration; Bug ID CSCww39530
- No workarounds exist; only software updates remediate the flaw
- Root-level access could let attackers alter logs and establish persistence
- Cisco recommends checking access.log for suspicious usernames and reimaging suspect nodes
- CVEs
- CVE-2026-76460
- Vendors
- Cisco
- Products
- Cisco ISECisco ISE-PIC
Vulnerabilities mentioned
All| CVE | Vulnerability | CVSS | EPSS | Signals | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-76460 | Unauthenticated Management Interface Bypass in Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC | 10.0 | 76% | KEVPoC | KEV |
From the original article
3 min read at gbhackers.com
Cisco has issued an urgent security advisory regarding a critical authentication-bypass vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC). This vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-76460, has a maximum CVSS score of 10. 0 and could allow unauthenticated remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to vulnerable devices.
By Divya · gbhackers.com
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