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CVE-2026-20045

Cisco Unified Communications Products Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

  • High 8.2
  • Exploited: added to CISA KEV 21 Jan 2026

Description

A vulnerability in Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (Unified CM SME), Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM & Presence Service (Unified CM IM&P), Cisco Unity Connection, and Cisco Webex Calling Dedicated Instance could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device.  This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input in HTTP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a sequence of crafted HTTP requests to the web-based management interface of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain user-level access to the underlying operating system and then elevate privileges to root.  Note: Cisco has assigned this security advisory a Security Impact Rating (SIR) of Critical rather than High as the score indicates. The reason is that exploitation of this vulnerability could result in an attacker elevating privileges to root.

Key facts

Published
21 Jan 2026
Last changed
26 Feb 2026
Assigned by
cisco
KEV added
21 Jan 2026
KEV fix due
11 Feb 2026
EPSS
4.541% likely to be exploited in the next 30 days, higher than 91.717% of CVEs (scores for 15 Nov 2026)
SSVC (CISA)
Exploitation: active; Automatable: yes; Technical impact: total

Severity scores

Each score is shown as its source gave it. They are not averaged or merged.

  • 8.2CVSS 3.1, Highfrom the CNA (cisco)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N

What to do

  • Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.CISA KEV required action

Historical context and remediation

This reference retains the original CVE publication date. A recent record update does not mean a new attack occurred.

No separately sourced impact summary is available on this page yet. Consult the description, version data and dated exploitation evidence.

Version statuses below come from the CNA. An “unaffected” version is not necessarily a currently supported release or proof of a patch date. EPSS is a dated risk estimate, not a count of historical attacks.

Read the original CVE record.

Affected products

VendorProductVersions
CiscoCisco Unified Communications Manager
  • Default status: unknown
  • 12.5(1)SU2 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU1 (affected)
  • 12.5(1) (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU3 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU4 (affected)
  • 14 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU5 (affected)
  • 14SU1 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU6 (affected)
  • 14SU2 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU7 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU7a (affected)
  • 14SU3 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU8 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU8a (affected)
  • 15 (affected)
  • 15SU1 (affected)
  • 14SU4 (affected)
  • 14SU4a (affected)
  • 15SU1a (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU9 (affected)
  • 15SU2 (affected)
  • 15.0.1.13010-1 (affected)
  • 15.0.1.13011-1 (affected)
  • 15.0.1.13012-1 (affected)
  • 15.0.1.13013-1 (affected)
  • 15.0.1.13014-1 (affected)
  • 15.0.1.13015-1 (affected)
  • 15.0.1.13016-1 (affected)
  • 15.0.1.13017-1 (affected)
  • 15SU3a (affected)
CiscoCisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service
  • Default status: unknown
  • 12.5(1) (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU1 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU2 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU3 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU4 (affected)
  • 14 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU5 (affected)
  • 14SU1 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU6 (affected)
  • 14SU2 (affected)
  • 14SU2a (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU7 (affected)
  • 14SU3 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU8 (affected)
  • 15 (affected)
  • 15SU1 (affected)
  • 14SU4 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU9 (affected)
  • 15SU2 (affected)
  • 15SU3 (affected)
CiscoCisco Unity Connection
  • Default status: unknown
  • 12.5(1) (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU1 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU2 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU3 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU4 (affected)
  • 14 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU5 (affected)
  • 14SU1 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU6 (affected)
  • 14SU2 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU7 (affected)
  • 14SU3 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU8 (affected)
  • 14SU3a (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU8a (affected)
  • 15 (affected)
  • 15SU1 (affected)
  • 14SU4 (affected)
  • 12.5(1)SU9 (affected)
  • 15SU2 (affected)
  • 15SU3 (affected)

Timeline

  1. 21 Jan 2026 CVE-2026-20045 added to CISA KEV
  2. 21 Jan 2026 Added to the CISA KEV catalogue
  3. 21 Jan 2026 Published

Weakness

References