Auth bypass in Cisco Catalyst Sd-Wan Manager
CVE-2026-20182
May 2026: This security advisory provides the details and fix information for a vulnerability that was discovered and fixed after the was disclosed in February 2026. This new advisory is for a new vulnerability in the control connection handshaking. The section of this advisory includes Show Control Connections guidance to help with system checks. A vulnerability in the peering authentication in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD-WAN vSmart, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator, formerly SD-WAN vBond, could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and obtain administrative privileges on an affected system. This vulnerability exists because the peering authentication mechanism in an affected system is not working properly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted requests to the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to an affected Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller as an internal, high-privileged, non-root user account. Using this account, the attacker could access NETCONF, which would then allow the attacker to manipulate network configuration for the SD-WAN fabric.
Vulnerability class: Broken Authentication
EPSS: 0.915 (99.8th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 10.0 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Affected products
- Cisco Catalyst_sd-wan_manager — versions 20.12.7
- Cisco Catalyst Sd-wan Controller — versions 20.6.4, 20.9.2, 20.3.6
- Cisco Catalyst Sd-wan Manager — versions 20.1.12, 19.2.1, 18.4.4
- Cisco Sd-wan_vbond_orchestrator — versions 20.12.7
- Cisco Sd-wan_vsmart_controller — versions 20.12.7
Weakness classification (CWE)
CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)
This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on . CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.
BOD 22-01 due date: .
Required action: Please adhere to CISA’s guidelines to assess exposure and mitigate risks associated with Cisco SD-WAN devices as outlined 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.
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- psirt@cisco.com (Vendor Advisory)
- psirt@cisco.com (Not Applicable)
- 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-20182?
- CVE-2026-20182 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst Sd-Wan Manager, classified under Improper Authentication. CVSS score: 10.0/10. Published 2026-05-14.
- How severe is CVE-2026-20182?
- Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 10.0 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2026-20182 known to be exploited?
- Yes. CVE-2026-20182 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-05-14), indicating it is being actively exploited. 5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.