Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Summary

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller & Manager contain an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and obtain administrative privileges on an affected system.

Why it matters

CVE-2026-20182 is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming active exploitation in the wild. CISA remediation deadline: 2026-05-17. Treat remediation as urgent.

Operator check

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.

Sources