CVE-2026-76431 Cisco CVE debrief

Who should care

Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC administrators and security teams should assess exposure and apply patches or mitigations as needed. They should verify and apply patches, restrict administrative access, and monitor file system changes for suspicious activity. Additionally, they should review compensating controls for exposed systems while remediation is scheduled and verified, and check relevant monitoring, detection, and logs for exposed assets that needextra

Why it matters

CVE-2026-76431 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC that allows authenticated remote attackers to delete arbitrary files and directories. Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC administrators should verify and apply patches, restrict administrative access, and monitor file system changes.

• Potential data loss or system compromise due to arbitrary file deletion.
• Increased risk of lateral movement or further exploitation.
• Need for verification of patch application and system integrity.
• Potential disruption of critical services or business operations.

Technical summary

The vulnerability in Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC allows an authenticated, remote attacker to delete arbitrary files and directories on an affected device due to improper validation of directory traversal character sequences in a user-supplied file path before the request is validated. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the web-based management interface of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to delete arbitrary files and directories on the underlying operating system of the affected device.

Defensive priority

Medium priority for Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC administrators to verify and apply patches.

Recommended defensive actions

• Verify and apply Cisco patches for Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC.
• Restrict administrative access to the web-based management interface.
• Monitor file system changes for suspicious activity.
• Review compensating controls for exposed systems while remediation is scheduled and verified.
• Check relevant monitoring, detection, and logs for exposed assets that need extra review.
• Track exceptions, retest remediated assets, and close the item only after evidence is documented.
• Confirm whether affected product deployments exist in managed environments and assign an owner for follow-up.

Evidence notes

The CVE record and NVD entry provide details on the vulnerability. However, additional information from Cisco is needed for comprehensive assessment, including verification of patch application and system integrity. Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC administrators should verify and apply patches, restrict administrative access, and monitor file system changes. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of directory traversal character sequences in a user-supplied file path before the request is validated.

Sources and 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.