CVE-2026-20283
MediumCVSS 6.5Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk37th percentile - higher than 37% of all known CVEs
Summary
Insufficient validation of user-supplied input in IPsec Open API calls in Cisco ISE allows an authenticated remote attacker to inject arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. Exploitation requires valid administrative credentials and a node with more than one network interface, one of which is an active IPsec tunnel.
Risk Assessment
An attacker with administrative privileges can execute arbitrary commands on the system, and because root escalation is easy, Cisco assigned a High rating. This poses a serious risk of device compromise.
Recommendation
Urgently apply the Cisco fix, restrict access to the IPsec Open API, and review interface and IPsec tunnel configuration.
Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
See all- CVE-2017-12316High
A vulnerability in the Guest Portal login page of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to perform multiple login attempts exceeding the configured limit. The issue is due to insufficient server-side enforcement of the login attempt limit.
- CVE-2015-6323Critical
The Admin portal in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) versions 1.1.x, 1.2.0 before patch 17, 1.2.1 before patch 8, 1.3 before patch 5, and 1.4 before patch 4 allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access via unspecified vectors.
- CVE-2026-76451Medium
A vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) allows an authenticated remote attacker to conduct an SQL or HQL injection attack. It is caused by insufficient validation of user-supplied input to the affected APIs before it is used to build database queries. An attacker with valid administrative credentials could execute arbitrary SQL or HQL queries and access data they are not authorized to view or modify.
- CVE-2026-76450Medium
A vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) allows an authenticated remote attacker to conduct an SQL or HQL injection attack. It is caused by insufficient validation of user-supplied input to the affected APIs before it is used to build database queries. An attacker with valid administrative credentials could execute arbitrary SQL or HQL queries and access data they are not authorized to view or modify.
- CVE-2026-76449Medium
A vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) allows an authenticated remote attacker to conduct an SQL or HQL injection attack. It is caused by insufficient validation of user-supplied input to the affected APIs before it is used to build database queries. An attacker with valid administrative credentials could execute arbitrary SQL or HQL queries and access data they are not authorized to view or modify.
- CVE-2026-76448Medium
A vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) allows an authenticated remote attacker to conduct an SQL or HQL injection attack. It is caused by insufficient validation of user-supplied input to the affected APIs before it is used to build database queries. An attacker with valid administrative credentials could execute arbitrary SQL or HQL queries and access data they are not authorized to view or modify.
- CVE-2026-76447Medium
A vulnerability in the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) responder of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause an administrative reload of the OCSP responder certificate and key material. It is caused by missing authentication on a function of the OCSP responder. An attacker could send a crafted request to trigger the reload of certificate and key material on demand.
- CVE-2026-76446Medium
A vulnerability in an API of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC allows an authenticated remote attacker to read specific files on the underlying operating system of an affected device. It is caused by improper restriction of XML external entity references (XXE). An attacker could send a crafted request to read files that the underlying process has permission to access.
- CVE-2026-20309Medium
The web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) does not properly validate user-supplied input, allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker to conduct a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) attack. By persuading a user to click a crafted link, the attacker can execute arbitrary script code in the context of the interface or access sensitive browser-based information.
- CVE-2026-20287Medium
An internal security review by Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) engineering teams revealed multiple vulnerabilities related to improper privilege management (CWE-269). A software hardening release addressing these internally discovered issues has been made available.
Original NVD description (English source)
A vulnerability in the IPsec Open API endpoint of Cisco ISE could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to inject arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input in IPsec Open API calls. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted input to the IPsec Open API endpoint on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials and the node must have more than one network interface, one of which must be configured as an active IPsec tunnel. Note: For CVE-2026-20283, Cisco has assigned a Security Impact Rating (SIR) of High rather than Medium as the score indicates. The reason is that it is easy to get to root from the achieved privilege level.
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS