CVE-2026-20182
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
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 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, 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 the affected system.
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. Deadline for federal agencies: 2026-05-17.
9 articles across 7 outlets · first covered May 14, 2026 · latest May 18, 2026
Associated threat actors
Coverage timeline
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Microsoft Exchange zero day bug exploited in the wildthehackernews.com · May 18, 2026
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CVE-2026-20182 Cisco SD WAN flaw grants remote admin accesssocradar.io · May 15, 2026
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Cisco patches SDWAN zero day CVE-2026-20182 exploited by UAT8616www.securityweek.com · May 15, 2026
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CISA warns of Cisco Catalyst SDWAN flaw amid active exploitationthehackernews.com · May 15, 2026
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Cisco SD WAN flaw lets attackers seize control, patch urgedwww.darkreading.com · May 14, 2026
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U.S. CISA adds a flaw in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogsecurityaffairs.com · May 14, 2026
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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Auth Bypass Actively Exploited to Gain Admin Accessthehackernews.com · May 14, 2026
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Cisco SD WAN authentication bypass lets attackers gain admin accesswww.cisa.gov · May 14, 2026
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CVE-2026-20182 Flaw in Cisco SDWAN Letscisa.gov · May 14, 2026