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Improper Input ValidationWeakness · CWE-20

CVE-2026-20093

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A vulnerability in the change password functionality of Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and gain access to the system as Admin. This vulnerability is due to incorrect handling of password change requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass authentication, alter the passwords of any user on the system, including an Admin user, and gain access to the system as that user.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This is an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco IMC's password change functionality. An unauthenticated, remote attacker can send a crafted HTTP request to bypass authentication mechanisms and change passwords for any user, including Admin, thereby gaining full access to the affected system.

MitigationApply the Cisco-provided patch or upgrade to a fixed version of Cisco IMC. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the IMC management interface using firewalls or ACLs to limit exposure to untrusted networks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Cisco IMC is installed
    Access the system BIOS or boot menu to verify the presence of Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC). Alternatively, check if the system has an IP address assigned to the dedicated management interface (often labeled as 'MGM' or 'CIMC') that serves the IMC web interface.
    Affected if The system does not have Cisco IMC installed.
  2. Verify IMC web interface accessibility
    Attempt to access the IMC web interface by navigating to the management IP address using HTTPS (typically https://<management-ip>). Confirm the login page loads successfully.
    Affected if The IMC web interface is accessible and responding to HTTP/HTTPS requests.
  3. Check IMC version
    Log into the IMC web interface and navigate to the 'Admin' or 'Settings' section to view the firmware version. Alternatively, use the CLI: connect to the CIMC via SSH and run 'show version' or 'ucpecmc -v'.
    Affected if The installed version is older than the fixed release provided by Cisco.
  4. Confirm password change endpoint is reachable
    Using a browser or HTTP tool, attempt to reach the password change endpoint path (commonly /ipmi/servlet/avctKVM or similar password change handlers). The vulnerability allows unauthenticated access to this endpoint.
    Affected if The password change endpoint responds without requiring authentication.
  5. Assess network exposure of IMC interface
    Review firewall rules, ACLs, or network segmentation to determine if the IMC management interface is exposed to untrusted networks or the public internet.
    Affected if The IMC interface is accessible from untrusted networks without proper access controls.

A system is affected if it runs Cisco IMC with the password change functionality exposed to the network and the installed version has not been patched to the Cisco-provided fixed release.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Cisco-provided patch or upgrade to a fixed version of Cisco IMC. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the IMC management interface using firewalls or ACLs to limit exposure to untrusted networks.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,760
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-20093 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data