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CVE-2026-20288

MEDIUM 6.5

Published 2026-08-05 · Last modified 2026-08-06

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco IMC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with Admin privileges to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected system and elevate privileges to root.  This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by entering crafted inputs to the web-based management interface of the affected software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system as the root user.  Cisco has assigned this vulnerability a SIR of High rather than Medium as the score indicates because additional security implications could occur when the attacker becomes root.

NO EXPLOITATION SIGNALS

No known exploitation, public exploit, or elevated probability at this time. Track for changes.

Exploitation likelihood

0.3%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 28th percentile

○ In CISA KEV ○ Public exploit / PoC

Impact if exploited

6.5CVSS 3.1 · MEDIUM

  • ConfidentialityHigh
  • IntegrityHigh
  • AvailabilityNone

What an attacker needs

  • ✓Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
  • ⚠Privileges: Requires an admin / high-privilege account
  • ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
  • ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable

✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it

Proof of concept & exploit code

Test against your own equipment

curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-20288/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).

Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-20288/poc.json

Affected

Vendors Cisco

Products Cisco Unified Computing System (Standalone) Cisco Unified Computing System E Series Software (Ucse)

Weakness (CWE)

  • CWE-146: Improper Neutralization of Expression/Command Delimiters

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

All CVSS metrics

  • MEDIUM 6.5 v3.1 · CNA Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
  • MEDIUM 6.5 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

References

Technical & other

Sources: NVD · CVE.org · EPSS