CVE-2026-20127
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
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 an 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.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
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 an 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.
- Record
CVE-2026-20127- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-287
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-8675
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 an 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.
- Record
EUVD-2026-8675- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-p4cq-46q3-jr7w
A vulnerability in the peering authentication in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD...
A vulnerability in the peering authentication in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD-WAN vSmart, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage, 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 an 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.
- Record
GHSA-p4cq-46q3-jr7w- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-287
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CISA KEV No score
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller and Manager Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller, formerly SD-WAN vSmart, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage, contain an authentication bypass vulnerability 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 an 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.
- Record
CVE-2026-20127- Weakness
- CWE-287
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
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 an 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.
- Record
CVE-2026-20127- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-287
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| PoC in GitHub | randeepajayasekara/CVE-2026-20127 | 2026-03-04 |
| PoC in GitHub | zerozenxlabs/CVE-2026-20127---Cisco-SD-WAN-Preauth-RCE | 2026-03-04 |
| PoC in GitHub | BugFor-Pings/CVE-2026-20127_EXP | 2026-03-05 |
| PoC in GitHub | yonathanpy/CVE-2026-20127-Cisco-SD-WAN-Preauth-RCE | 2026-03-07 |
| PoC in GitHub | abrahamsurf/sdwan-scanner-CVE-2026-20127 | 2026-03-08 |
| PoC in GitHub | sfewer-r7/CVE-2026-20127 | 2026-03-09 |
| PoC in GitHub | gigachadusers/cve-2026-20127 | 2026-04-15 |
| PoC in GitHub | 0xBlackash/CVE-2026-20127 | 2026-06-14 |
| PoC in GitHub | anuththara2007-W/CVE-2026-20127-Exploit-Extension | 2026-07-12 |
| Metasploit | Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass | 2026-02-25 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| exploitation, exploits | ||
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, CISA KEV, Metasploit, NVD, PoC in GitHub |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-20127 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 10.0) in Cisco Catalyst Sd-wan Manager, published February 25, 2026. CISA lists it as known to be exploited, since February 25, 2026. EUVD reports exploitation since February 25, 2026. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 87.6%, the 99th percentile. No source names a fixed version.