CVE-2026-20182

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Critical 10.0
Exploited: added to CISA KEV 14 May 2026

Description

May 2026: This security advisory provides the details and fix information for a vulnerability that was discovered and fixed after the was disclosed in February 2026. This new advisory is for a new vulnerability in the control connection handshaking. The section of this advisory includes Show Control Connections guidance to help with system checks.  A vulnerability in the peering authentication in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD-WAN vSmart, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator, formerly SD-WAN vBond, could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and obtain administrative privileges on an affected system. This vulnerability exists because the peering authentication mechanism in an affected system is not working properly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted requests to the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to an affected Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller as an internal, high-privileged, non-root user account. Using this account, the attacker could access NETCONF, which would then allow the attacker to manipulate network configuration for the SD-WAN fabric.

Key facts

Published: 14 May 2026
Last changed: 16 Jun 2026
Assigned by: cisco
KEV added: 14 May 2026
KEV fix due: 17 May 2026
EPSS: 91.091% likely to be exploited in the next 30 days, higher than 99.812% 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.

10.0CVSS 3.1, Criticalfrom the CNA (cisco)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

What to do

Please adhere to CISA’s guidelines to assess exposure and mitigate risks associated with Cisco SD-WAN devices as outlined in CISA’s Emergency Directive 26-03 (URL listed below in Notes) and CISA’s Hunt & Hardening Guidance for Cisco SD-WAN Devices (URL listed below in Notes). Adhere to the applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are not available.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

Vendor	Product	Versions
Cisco	Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller	Default status: unknown 20.6.4 (affected) 20.9.2 (affected) 20.3.6 (affected) 20.7.2 (affected) 20.7.1 (affected) 20.5.1 (affected) 20.6.2 (affected) 19.3.0 (affected) 20.6.1 (affected) 17.2.4 (affected) 18.2.0 (affected) 18.4.6 (affected) 19.1.0 (affected) 19.2.4 (affected) 19.2.929 (affected) 18.3.8 (affected) 18.4.303 (affected) 18.3.7 (affected) 18.4.1 (affected) 19.2.097 (affected) 19.2.0 (affected) 19.2.099 (affected) 18.3.6 (affected) 20.4.2 (affected) 19.0.0 (affected) 20.9.1 (affected) 20.3.5 (affected) 20.3.1 (affected) 18.3.5 (affected) 20.6.3 (affected) 18.4.3 (affected) 18.4.4 (affected) 18.3.3 (affected) 17.2.8 (affected) 20.8.1 (affected) 19.2.32 (affected) 19.2.2 (affected) 17.2.5 (affected) 18.4.0 (affected) 20.4.1.1 (affected) 20.1.3 (affected) 20.1.2 (affected) 17.2.10 (affected) 19.2.098 (affected) 20.1.1 (affected) 17.2.6 (affected) 19.2.1 (affected) 18.3.4 (affected) 20.4.1 (affected) 17.2.9 (affected) 19.2.31 (affected) 19.0.1a (affected) 18.3.0 (affected) 17.2.7 (affected) 18.4.5 (affected) 20.3.4 (affected) 20.3.3 (affected) 20.4.1.2 (affected) 20.3.2 (affected) 18.3.1 (affected) 20.1.12 (affected) 19.2.3 (affected) 20.10.1 (affected) 20.6.5 (affected) 20.3.7 (affected) 20.9.3 (affected) 20.11.1 (affected) 20.6.3.2 (affected) 20.4.2.3 (affected) 20.3.5.1 (affected) 20.3.4.3 (affected) 20.9.3.1 (affected) 20.6.4.1 (affected) 20.3.3.2 (affected) 20.6.5.2 (affected) 20.3.7.1 (affected) 20.11.1.1 (affected) 20.10.1.1 (affected) 20.6.1.2 (affected) 20.1.3.1 (affected) 20.9.2.2 (affected) 20.6.5.3 (affected) 20.6.3.3 (affected) 20.3.7.2 (affected) 20.6.5.4 (affected) 20.9.2.3 (affected) 20.9.4 (affected) 20.12.1 (affected) 20.3.8 (affected) 20.6.6 (affected) 20.12.2 (affected) 20.13.1 (affected) 20.9.5 (affected) 20.12.3 (affected) 20.6.7 (affected) 20.9.5.1 (affected) 20.14.1 (affected) 20.12.3.1 (affected) 20.12.4 (affected) 20.15.1 (affected) 20.9.6 (affected) 20.6.8 (affected) 20.16.1 (affected) 20.9.5.3 (affected) 20.12.4.1 (affected) 20.15.2 (affected) 20.12.5 (affected) 20.9.7 (affected) 20.15.3 (affected) 20.12.5.1 (affected) 20.12.5.2 (affected) 20.15.4 (affected) 20.9.7.1 (affected) 20.12.6 (affected) 20.9.8 (affected) 20.15.4.1 (affected) 20.15.4.2 (affected) 20.12.5.3 (affected) 20.12.6.1 (affected) 20.9.8.2 (affected) 20.15.5 (affected) 20.12.7 (affected) 20.9.9 (affected) 20.15.5.1 (affected) 20.15.4.3 (affected) 20.15.4.5 (affected) 20.15.5.3 (affected) 20.12.7.2 (affected) 20.9.9.2 (affected)
Cisco	Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager	Default status: unknown 20.1.12 (affected) 19.2.1 (affected) 18.4.4 (affected) 18.4.5 (affected) 20.1.1.1 (affected) 20.1.1 (affected) 19.2.099 (affected) 18.3.6 (affected) 18.3.7 (affected) 19.2.0 (affected) 19.1.0 (affected) 18.4.303 (affected) 19.2.098 (affected) 18.3.6.1 (affected) 18.2.0 (affected) 17.2.8 (affected) 18.3.3.1 (affected) 18.4.0 (affected) 18.3.1 (affected) 17.2.6 (affected) 17.2.9 (affected) 17.2.5 (affected) 18.4.0.1 (affected) 18.3.3 (affected) 18.3.0 (affected) 19.2.3 (affected) 18.4.501_ES (affected) 20.1.2 (affected) 19.2.929 (affected) 19.2.31 (affected) 20.3.2 (affected) 19.2.4 (affected) 19.2.4.0.9 (affected) 20.1.3.1 (affected)