A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco IMC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with admin-level privileges to execute arbitrary code as the root user. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input to the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code 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.
CVE-2026-20097 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco IMC web management interface allowing authenticated admin users to execute arbitrary code as root through improper input validation. While CVSS is 6.5, Cisco rates it High due to root-level code execution implications. No patch is currently available, requiring immediate compensating controls in Saudi organizations managing Cisco infrastructure.
Immediate Actions:
1. Inventory all Cisco IMC deployments across your organization and document versions
2. Restrict network access to IMC web interfaces using firewall rules - limit to authorized administrative networks only
3. Implement network segmentation isolating IMC management interfaces from general networks
4. Enable comprehensive logging and monitoring of all IMC web interface access attempts
5. Review admin account access logs for suspicious authentication patterns
Compensating Controls (until patch available):
6. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block malformed HTTP requests to IMC interfaces
7. Deploy intrusion detection signatures monitoring for CVE-2026-20097 exploitation attempts
8. Enforce multi-factor authentication for all IMC admin accounts
9. Implement IP whitelisting for IMC management access
10. Disable IMC web interface if not actively required; use out-of-band management alternatives
Detection Rules:
- Monitor for HTTP POST/PUT requests to IMC admin endpoints with unusual payload sizes
- Alert on failed input validation errors in IMC logs
- Track privilege escalation attempts following IMC web interface access
- Monitor for unexpected process execution with root privileges originating from IMC services
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. قم بحصر جميع نشرات Cisco IMC عبر مؤسستك وتوثيق الإصدارات
2. قيد الوصول إلى واجهات ويب IMC باستخدام قواعد جدار الحماية - حصر الوصول على الشبكات الإدارية المصرح بها فقط
3. طبق تقسيم الشبكة لعزل واجهات إدارة IMC عن الشبكات العامة
4. فعّل التسجيل الشامل ومراقبة جميع محاولات الوصول إلى واجهة ويب IMC
5. راجع سجلات وصول حساب المسؤول بحثاً عن أنماط مصادقة مريبة
الضوابط التعويضية (حتى توفر التصحيح):
6. طبق قواعد جدار تطبيقات الويب (WAF) للكشف عن طلبات HTTP غير صحيحة وحجبها
7. نشر توقيعات كشف التسلل لمراقبة محاولات استغلال CVE-2026-20097
8. فرض المصادقة متعددة العوامل لجميع حسابات مسؤول IMC
9. طبق قائمة بيضاء للعناوين IP لوصول إدارة IMC
10. عطّل واجهة ويب IMC إذا لم تكن مطلوبة بنشاط؛ استخدم بدائل الإدارة خارج النطاق