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CVE-2026-20122

Critical 🇺🇸 CISA KEV

                    Published: Apr 20, 2026                                          ·  Source: CISA_KEV                

CVSS v3

9.8

🔗 NVD Official

📄 Description (English)

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manger — CVE-2026-20122
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager contains an incorrect use of privileged APIs vulnerability due to improper file handling on the API interface of an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a malicious file on the local file system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the affected system and gain vmanage user privileges.

Required Action: Please adhere to CISA’s guidelines to assess exposure and mitigate risks associated with Cisco SD-WAN devices as outlines 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.
Due Date: 2026-04-23

🤖 AI Executive Summary

CVE-2026-20122 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager allowing unauthenticated attackers to upload malicious files and overwrite arbitrary system files, potentially gaining vmanage user privileges. This poses severe risk to Saudi organizations relying on SD-WAN for enterprise network segmentation and branch connectivity. Immediate assessment and compensating controls are essential as no patch is currently available.

📄 Description (Arabic)

🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 21, 2026 02:50

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment

Critical impact on Saudi banking sector (SAMA-regulated institutions), government agencies (NCA oversight), and large enterprises using Cisco SD-WAN for network infrastructure. ARAMCO and energy sector organizations managing critical infrastructure through SD-WAN are at high risk. Telecom operators (STC, Mobily, Zain) using SD-WAN for service delivery face potential service disruption and data compromise. Healthcare organizations and financial institutions could experience unauthorized access to sensitive patient/customer data. The vulnerability enables lateral movement within enterprise networks and potential compromise of branch office connectivity.

🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors

Banking and Financial Services Government and Public Administration Energy and Utilities Healthcare Telecommunications Large Enterprises with Multi-Branch Networks

🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application T1199 - Trusted Relationship T1566 - Phishing T1570 - Lateral Tool Transfer T1574 - Hijack Execution Flow T1548 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism T1078 - Valid Accounts T1105 - Ingress Tool Transfer T1562 - Impair Defenses

⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)

9.5

/ 10.0

🔧 Remediation Steps (English)

IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:

1. Inventory all Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager instances across your organization and document version numbers

2. Isolate affected SD-WAN Manager instances from untrusted networks; restrict API access to authorized administrative networks only

3. Implement network segmentation: place SD-WAN Manager behind WAF/IPS with strict file upload filtering

4. Disable or restrict file upload functionality on the API interface if operationally feasible

5. Monitor all file operations on SD-WAN Manager systems for suspicious activity

COMPENSATING CONTROLS:

6. Implement strict input validation and file type whitelisting on all API endpoints

7. Deploy host-based file integrity monitoring (FIM) to detect unauthorized file modifications

8. Enforce principle of least privilege for vmanage service accounts

9. Enable comprehensive API logging and audit trails with SIEM integration

10. Implement multi-factor authentication for all administrative access

DETECTION RULES:

11. Alert on any file upload attempts to /api/* endpoints

12. Monitor for vmanage process spawning unexpected child processes

13. Track modifications to system files in /etc, /opt, /var directories

14. Log and alert on privilege escalation attempts

15. Monitor for unusual network connections from SD-WAN Manager to external systems

PATCHING STRATEGY:

16. Subscribe to Cisco security advisories for patch availability

17. Establish expedited patching timeline once patch is released (target: within 7 days)

18. Maintain offline backup of SD-WAN Manager configurations before patching

🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)

الإجراءات الفورية:

1. قم بحصر جميع مثيلات Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager عبر مؤسستك وتوثيق أرقام الإصدارات

2. عزل مثيلات SD-WAN Manager المتأثرة عن الشبكات غير الموثوقة؛ تقييد وصول API إلى الشبكات الإدارية المصرح بها فقط

3. تنفيذ تقسيم الشبكة: ضع SD-WAN Manager خلف WAF/IPS مع تصفية صارمة لتحميل الملفات

4. تعطيل أو تقييد وظيفة تحميل الملفات على واجهة API إن أمكن تشغيلياً

5. مراقبة جميع عمليات الملفات على أنظمة SD-WAN Manager للنشاط المريب

الضوابط البديلة:

6. تنفيذ التحقق الصارم من المدخلات وقائمة بيضاء لأنواع الملفات على جميع نقاط نهاية API

7. نشر مراقبة سلامة الملفات (FIM) على مستوى المضيف لكشف التعديلات غير المصرح بها

8. فرض مبدأ الامتياز الأدنى لحسابات خدمة vmanage

9. تفعيل تسجيل API الشامل وتتبع التدقيق مع تكامل SIEM

10. تنفيذ المصادقة متعددة العوامل لجميع الوصول الإداري

قواعد الكشف:

11. تنبيه على أي محاولات تحميل ملفات إلى نقاط نهاية /api/*

12. مراقبة عملية vmanage التي تولد عمليات فرعية غير متوقعة

13. تتبع التعديلات على ملفات النظام في الدلائل /etc و /opt و /var

14. تسجيل والتنبيه على محاولات تصعيد الامتيازات

15. مراقبة الاتصالات الشبكية غير العادية من SD-WAN Manager إلى الأنظمة الخارجية

استراتيجية التصحيح:

16. الاشتراك في استشارات أمان Cisco لتوفر التصحيحات

17. إنشاء جدول زمني معجل للتصحيح بمجرد توفر التصحيح (الهدف: خلال 7 أيام)

18. الحفاظ على نسخة احتياطية غير متصلة من تكوينات SD-WAN Manager قبل التصحيح

📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping

🟢 NCA ECC 2024

ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Information Security Policies and Procedures ECC 2024 A.6.1.2 - Access Control and Authentication ECC 2024 A.8.2.1 - System Hardening and Configuration Management ECC 2024 A.8.3.1 - Vulnerability Management ECC 2024 A.9.1.1 - Incident Detection and Response

🔵 SAMA CSF

SAMA CSF ID.AM-2 - Hardware and Software Assets SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access Control and Authentication SAMA CSF PR.DS-2 - Data Security and Integrity SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - Detection and Analysis SAMA CSF RS.MI-1 - Incident Response and Recovery

🟡 ISO 27001:2022

ISO 27001:2022 A.5.1 - Policies for Information Security ISO 27001:2022 A.6.1 - Organizational Controls ISO 27001:2022 A.8.1 - Asset Management ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - Configuration Management ISO 27001:2022 A.8.6 - Management of Technical Vulnerabilities

🟣 PCI DSS v4.0

PCI DSS 2.4 - Configuration Standards PCI DSS 6.2 - Security Patches and Updates PCI DSS 11.2 - Vulnerability Scanning

🔗 References & Sources 0

No references.

📊 CVSS Score

9.8

/ 10.0 — Critical

📋 Quick Facts

Severity Critical

CVSS Score9.8

EPSS0.02%

Exploit No

Patch ✗ No

CISA KEV🇺🇸 Yes

Published 2026-04-20

Source Feed cisa_kev

🇸🇦 Saudi Risk Score

9.5

/ 10.0 — Saudi Risk

Priority: CRITICAL

🏷️ Tags

kev cisa exploit-known

⚡ Actions

🔗 NVD Official Page ⚡ Exploit-DB Search 🐙 GitHub PoC Search 🎯 MITRE ATT&CK 📊 CVE Details

CVE-2026-20122

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