CVE-2026-20181
9.1 · CRITICALOverview
CVE-2026-20181 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting cisco identity_services_engine. It was published on June 17, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
A vulnerability in Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials.
This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain user-level access to the underlying operating system and then elevate privileges to root. In single-node deployments, successful exploitation of this vulnerability could cause the affected ISE node to become unavailable, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. In that condition, endpoints that have not already authenticated would be unable to access the network until the node is restored.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from cisco. Update identity_services_engine to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| cisco | identity_services_engine | >= 0, < 3.3.0 | Affected |
| cisco | identity_services_engine_passive_identity_connector | >= 0, < 3.3.0 | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-20181?
CVE-2026-20181 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting cisco identity_services_engine. It was published on June 17, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL).
How severe is CVE-2026-20181?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-20181?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from cisco. Update identity_services_engine to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-20181?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2026-20181 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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