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CVE-2026-20160 Cisco CVE debrief

CVE-2026-20160 is a critical vulnerability in Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem (SSM On-Prem) that allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root-level privileges. This vulnerability is due to the unintentional exposure of an internal service. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the API of the exposed service. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system with root-level privileges. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 9.8 and is considered CRITICAL. Cisco has released a security advisory to address this vulnerability.

Vendor
Cisco
Product
Smart Software Manager On-Prem
CVSS
CRITICAL 9.8
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2026-04-01
Original CVE updated
2026-07-01
Advisory published
2026-04-01
Advisory updated
2026-07-01

Who should care

Organizations using Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem (SSM On-Prem) should be aware of this critical vulnerability and take immediate action to mitigate the risk. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root-level privileges. This could lead to a complete compromise of the affected system.

Technical summary

The vulnerability is due to the unintentional exposure of an internal service in Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem (SSM On-Prem). An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the API of the exposed service. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system with root-level privileges. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 9.8 and is considered CRITICAL. The CVSS vector is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Defensive priority

This vulnerability should be prioritized for immediate attention due to its critical severity and potential impact on the affected system. Organizations should apply the available patches or mitigations as soon as possible to prevent exploitation.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Apply the available patches or mitigations provided by Cisco to address this vulnerability.
  • Restrict access to the affected system to prevent unauthorized access.
  • Monitor the affected system for suspicious activity.
  • Implement additional security controls to detect and prevent exploitation attempts.
  • Review and update incident response plans to ensure readiness in case of exploitation.

Evidence notes

The vulnerability is documented in the Cisco Security Advisory (https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ssm-cli-execution-cHUcWuNr). The CVE record is available on CVE.org (https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-20160) and the NVD detail is available on NVD (https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20160).

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2026-20160 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-20160

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2026-20160 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20160

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.