Cisco · Catalyst SD-WAN
A flaw in the peering authentication mechanism of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller (formerly vSmart), Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (formerly vManage), and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator (formerly vBond) causes improper authentication during control connection handshaking. An unauthenticated remote attacker who sends crafted requests to an affected system can bypass authentication and log in as an internal, high-privileged, non-root account, then use NETCONF to manipulate the SD-WAN fabric's network configuration.
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.
First seen exploited the day it was disclosed. Public exploit code (Metasploit) was available 7 days before disclosure.
CISA KEV listing is when exploitation was confirmed, not necessarily the first attack.
unauthenticated remote exploit of public-facing service
could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication
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Reports are matched by finding the exact id CVE-2026-20182 in their text; nobody has reviewed the match. One passage is shown per report, at most 320 characters, linked to the original.
Cisco Talos is tracking the active exploitation of CVE-2026-20182, an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD-WAN vSmart, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage.
Cisco Talos is tracking the active exploitation of CVE-2026-20182, an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD-WAN vSmart, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage.
Cisco Talos is tracking the active exploitation of CVE-2026-20182, an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD-WAN vSmart, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage.
Cisco Talos is tracking the active exploitation of CVE-2026-20182, an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD-WAN vSmart, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage.
Pulses are indicator collections that anyone can publish. A mention is not confirmation of exploitation.