Cisco Security Advisory
Cisco Integrated Management Controller Argument Injection Vulnerabilities
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CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:X/RL:X/RC:X
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Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected system and elevate privileges to root.
For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
Cisco has released software updates that address these vulnerabilities. There are no workarounds that address these vulnerabilities.
This advisory is available at the following link:
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cimc-arg-inject-upSHdMfU
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Vulnerable Products
These vulnerabilities affect the following Cisco products if they are running a vulnerable release of Cisco IMC, regardless of device configuration:
Product CVE IDs Cisco Bug IDs 5000 Series Enterprise Network Compute Systems (ENCS) CVE-2026-20288 CSCwu57141 Catalyst 8300 Series Edge uCPE CVE-2026-20288 CSCwu57142 UCS C-Series M5 and M6 Rack Servers in standalone mode CVE-2026-20288 CSCwt45063 UCS C-Series M7 and M8 Rack Servers in standalone mode CVE-2026-20200
CVE-2026-20288CSCwt16342
CSCwt45063UCS E-Series Servers M3 CVE-2026-20288 CSCwu57141 UCS E-Series Servers M6 CVE-2026-20288 CSCwu57142 UCS S-Series Storage Servers in standalone mode CVE-2026-20288 CSCwt45063 Cisco appliances that are based on a preconfigured version of one of the Cisco UCS C-Series Servers that are in the preceding list are also affected by these vulnerabilities if they expose access to the Cisco IMC UI. At the time of publication, this included the following Cisco products:
- Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) Servers
- Business Edition 6000 and 7000 Appliances
- Catalyst Center Appliances
- Cisco Telemetry Broker Appliances
- Cloud Services Platform (CSP) 5000 Series
- Common Services Platform Collector (CSPC) Appliances
- Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX) Appliances
- Connected Safety and Security UCS Platform Series Servers
- Cyber Vision Center Appliances
- Expressway Series Appliances
- HyperFlex Edge Nodes
- HyperFlex Nodes in HyperFlex Datacenter without Fabric Interconnect (DC-No-FI) deployment mode
- IEC6400 Edge Compute Appliances
- IOS XRv 9000 Appliances
- Meeting Server 1000 Appliances
- Nexus Dashboard Appliances
- Prime Infrastructure Appliances
- Prime Network Registrar Jumpstart Appliances
- Secure Endpoint Private Cloud Appliances
- Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Appliances
- Secure Malware Analytics Appliances
- Secure Network Analytics Appliances
- Secure Network Server (ISE SNS) Appliances
- Secure Workload Servers
For information about which Cisco software releases are vulnerable, see the Fixed Software section of this advisory.
Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable
Only products listed in the Vulnerable Products section of this advisory are known to be affected by these vulnerabilities.
Cisco has confirmed that the following Cisco products are not affected by either of these vulnerabilities:
- UCS B-Series Blade Servers
- UCS C-Series Rack Servers with Fabric Interconnects in UCS Manager or Intersight Managed Mode (IMM)
- UCS S-Series Storage Servers with Fabric Interconnects in UCS Manager or Intersight Managed Mode (IMM)
- UCS X-Series Modular System
- Unified Edge
Cisco has confirmed that the following Cisco products are not affected by the vulnerability that is described in CVE-2026-20200:
- 5000 Series Enterprise Network Compute Systems (ENCS)
- Catalyst 8300 Series Edge uCPE
- UCS C-Series M5 and M6 Rack Servers in standalone mode
- UCS E-Series M3 and M6 Servers
- UCS S-Series Storage Servers in standalone mode
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The vulnerabilities not dependent on one another. Exploitation of one of the vulnerabilities not required to exploit the other vulnerability. In addition, a software release that is affected by one of the vulnerabilities may not be affected by the other vulnerability.
Details about the vulnerabilities are as follows:
CVE-2026-20200: Cisco IMC Argument Injection Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco IMC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with low privileges to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected system and elevate privileges to root.
This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by entering crafted inputs to the web-based management interface of the affected software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system as the root user.
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
Bug ID(s): CSCwt16342
CVE ID: CVE-2026-20200
Security Impact Rating (SIR): High
CVSS Base Score:8.8
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVE-2026-20288: Cisco IMC Argument Injection Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco IMC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with Admin privileges to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected system and elevate privileges to root.
This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by entering crafted inputs to the web-based management interface of the affected software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system as the root user.
Cisco has assigned this vulnerability a SIR of High rather than Medium as the score indicates because additional security implications could occur when the attacker becomes root.
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
Bug ID(s): CSCwt45063, CSCwu57141, and CSCwu57142
CVE ID: CVE-2026-20288
Security Impact Rating (SIR): High
CVSS Base Score: 6.5
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
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There are no workarounds that address these vulnerabilities.
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Cisco considers any workarounds and mitigations (if applicable) to be temporary solutions until an upgrade to a fixed software release is available. To fully remediate these vulnerabilities and avoid future exposure as described in this advisory, Cisco strongly recommends that customers upgrade to the fixed software indicated in this advisory.
Fixed Releases
In the following tables, the left column lists Cisco software releases. The right column indicates whether a release is affected the vulnerabilities that are described in this advisory and the first release that includes the fix these vulnerabilities. Customers are advised to upgrade to an appropriate fixed software release as indicated in this section.
5000 Series ENCS and Catalyst 8300 Series Edge uCPE
Note: Upgrading Cisco IMC on Cisco 5000 Series ENCS and Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge uCPE requires upgrading Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software (NFVIS) on the platforms. Cisco IMC is upgraded as part of the firmware auto-upgrade process.
Cisco NFVIS Release First Fixed Release (ENCS) for CVE-2026-20288 Earlier than 4.12 Migrate to a fixed release. 4.12 4.12.8 4.13 Migrate to a fixed release. 4.14 Migrate to a fixed release. 4.15 4.15.6
Cisco NFVIS Release First Fixed Release (uCPE) for CVE-2026-20288 4.12 4.12.8 4.13 Migrate to a fixed release. 4.14 Migrate to a fixed release. 4.15 4.15.6 4.16 Migrate to a fixed release. 4.18 4.18.5 (Sep 2026) 26.1 26.1.2 UCS C-Series M5 Rack Server
Cisco UCS Server Software Release First Fixed Release for CVE-2026-20288 Earlier than 4.2 Migrate to a fixed release. 4.2 4.2(3r) 4.3 4.3(2.260020) UCS C-Series M6 Rack Server
Cisco UCS Server Software Release First Fix Releases for CVE-2026-20288 Earlier than 4.2 Migrate to a fixed release. 4.2 4.2(3r) 4.3 4.3(6.260054) 6.0 6.0(2.260143)1 UCS C-Series M7 and M8 Rack Server
Cisco UCS Server Software Release First Fixed Release for CVE-2026-20200 First Fix Release for CVE-2026-20288 Earlier than 4.3 Migrate to a fixed release. Migrate to a fixed release. 4.3 4.3(6.260033) 4.3(6.260054) 6.0 6.0(2.260044) 6.0(2.260143)1 1. The fixed 6.0(2.260143) Host Upgrade Utility (HUU) ISO release includes the Cisco IMC 6.0(2.260094) packaged release. After upgrading to this fixed release, the Cisco IMC UI Dashboard page will show 6.0(2.260094) under Firmware Version. The Last HSU bundle used field under Administration > Firmware Management will display the fixed 6.0(2.260143) release.
UCS E-Series M3
Cisco UCSE Software Release First Fixed Release for CVE-2026-20288 3.2 and earlier 3.2.18.1 UCS E-Series M6
Cisco UCSE Software Release First Fixed Release for CVE-2026-20288 4.15 and earlier 4.15.4 UCS S-Series Storage Server
Cisco UCS Server Software Release First Fixed Release for CVE-2026-20288 Earlier than 4.3 Migrate to a fixed release. 4.3 4.3(6.260054) Note: For Cisco appliances that are based on a preconfigured version of one of the Cisco UCS C-Series Servers in the preceding tables, administrators can perform a direct upgrade of the Cisco IMC software to one of the fixed releases mentioned in the preceding tables. For instructions, see the Cisco Host Upgrade Utility User Guide. The exceptions are the appliances that are listed in the following table. For these appliances, follow the instructions in the Remediation column:
Cisco Hardware Platform First Fixed Firmware Release Remediation Cisco Telemetry Broker Appliances 6.0(2.260143)1 Install the firmware update CTB-FIRMWARE-6.0.2.260143-M6.iso. IEC6400 Edge Compute Appliances 4.3(6.260054) Apply the HUU upgrade using IEC6400-HUU-4.3.6-260054.img. IOS XRv 9000 M7 Appliances 6.0(2.260143)1 Upgrade to IOS XR 26.3.1 (Aug 2026), then upgrade the appliance firmware from the IOS XR CLI. Secure Endpoint Private Cloud Appliances 4.3(2.260020) (M5)
4.3(6.260054) (M6)Follow the steps documented in the TechNote. Secure Firewall Management (FMC) Center Appliances 4.3(2.260020) (M5)
6.0(2.260143)1 (M6, M8)Apply the Hotfix GA. Secure Malware Analytics Appliances 4.3(2.260020) (M5)
4.3(6.260054) (M6)Update the firmware using the Out-of-Band Firmware Update ISO procedure. Secure Network Analytics Appliances 4.3(2.260020) (M5)
6.0(2.260143)1 (M6)For M5, install the firmware update patch-common-SNA-FIRMWARE-4.3.2.260020-M5-v2-01.swu.
For M6, install the firmware update patch-common-SNA-FIRMWARE-6.0.2260143-M6-v2-01.swu.Secure Network Server (ISE SNS) Appliances 4.3(2.260020) (M5)
6.0(2.260143)1 (M6, M8)Apply the BIOS and HUU upgrade, as documented in Firmware Upgrade Guide for Cisco Secure Network Server 3600 Series, Cisco Secure Network Server 3700 Series, or Cisco Secure Network Server 3800 Series. 1. The fixed 6.0(2.260143) firmware release includes the Cisco IMC 6.0(2.260094) packaged release. After upgrading to this fixed release, the Cisco IMC UI Dashboard page will show 6.0(2.260094) under Firmware Version. The Last HSU bundle used field under Administration > Firmware Management will display the fixed 6.0(2.260143) release.The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) validates only the affected and fixed release information that is documented in this advisory.
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The Cisco PSIRT is aware that proof-of-concept exploit code is available for CVE-2026-20200.
The Cisco PSIRT is not aware of any malicious use of the vulnerabilities that are described in this advisory.
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Cisco would like to thank Christoph Peil of NSIDE ATTACK LOGIC GmbH for reporting CVE-2026-20200.
CVE-2026-20288 was found during internal security testing.
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To learn about Cisco security vulnerability disclosure policies and publications, see the Security Vulnerability Policy. This document also contains instructions for obtaining fixed software and receiving security vulnerability information from Cisco.
For additional information on Cisco's vulnerability management, disclosure cadence, and software patching strategy, see Cisco's Transition to a Risk-Based Vulnerability Disclosure Model.
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Show LessVersion Description Section Status Date 1.0 Initial public release. - Final 2026-AUG-05
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SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT
The Cisco Support and Downloads page on Cisco.com provides information about licensing and downloads. This page can also display customer device support coverage for customers who use the My Devices tool. Please note that customers may download only software that was procured from Cisco directly or through a Cisco authorized reseller or partner and for which the license is still valid.
Customers who purchase directly from Cisco but do not hold a Cisco service contract and customers who make purchases through third-party vendors but are unsuccessful in obtaining fixed software through their point of sale should obtain upgrades by contacting the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC). Customers should have the product serial number available and be prepared to provide the URL of this advisory as evidence of entitlement to a free upgrade.
When considering software upgrades, customers are advised to regularly consult the advisories for the relevant Cisco products to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution. In all cases, customers should ensure that the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and confirm that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or their contracted maintenance providers.
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Copies or summaries of the information contained in this Security Advisory may lack important information or contain factual errors. Customers are advised to visit the Cisco Security Advisories page for the most recent version of this Security Advisory. The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) assesses only the affected and fixed release information that is documented in this advisory. See the Cisco Security Vulnerability Policy for more information.