Command InjectionWeakness · CWE-77

CVE-2026-20094

HIGH · 8.8 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 →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 web-based management interface of Cisco IMC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with read-only privileges to perform command injection attacks on an affected system and execute arbitrary commands as the root user. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted commands 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.

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

Command injection vulnerability in Cisco IMC web-based management interface allows authenticated users with read-only privileges to execute arbitrary OS commands as root due to improper validation of user-supplied input in crafted HTTP requests.

MitigationApply Cisco's vendor patch for CVE-2026-20094 immediately; implement network segmentation to restrict IMC management interface access to trusted management networks as a compensating control until patched.

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify Cisco IMC presence
    Determine if the target system is a Cisco server with Integrated Management Controller (IMC). Check server model (e.g., Cisco UCS C-Series, M-Series, or B-Series) or inspect BMC firmware type via IPMI or hardware inventory.
    Affected if The system is a Cisco server running Cisco IMC as its baseboard management controller.
  2. Verify IMC web interface is enabled
    Check if the Cisco IMC web-based management interface (HTTPS on port 443/4433 or HTTP on port 80/80) is listening and accessible on the management network. Use 'netstat -an | grep -E "(443|80)"' or a port scanner targeting the BMC IP.
    Affected if The IMC web interface is enabled and reachable, exposing the attack surface.
  3. Confirm IMC version
    Access the IMC web login page or use Cisco IMC CLI ('show version' via IPMI or SSH to the BMC) to retrieve the IMC firmware version. Compare the version number against the Cisco IMC version history for CVE-2026-20094.
    Affected if The installed IMC version falls within the vulnerable version range (if known) or is an unpatched version.
  4. Check for existing user accounts
    List authenticated IMC users via the web interface user management page or via CLI ('show users' or LDAP/Radius integration status) to confirm read-only or privileged accounts exist.
    Affected if At least one authenticated user account (even read-only) exists in the IMC, allowing HTTP requests to be crafted.

The environment is affected if the system runs Cisco IMC with an accessible web interface and contains at least one authenticated user account, with an unpatched IMC version containing the command injection flaw.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Cisco's vendor patch for CVE-2026-20094 immediately; implement network segmentation to restrict IMC management interface access to trusted management networks as a compensating control until patched.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to the fixed Cisco IMC release specified in the Cisco security advisory for CVE-2026-20094 on sec.cloudapps.cisco.com

  1. Identify the exact version of Cisco IMC (Integrated Management Controller) currently installed on the affected system
  2. Navigate to Cisco's official security advisory page at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com for CVE-2026-20094
  3. Locate the specific fixed release version for your Cisco IMC version in the advisory
  4. Download the fixed Cisco IMC software version from Cisco's official download center
  5. Plan maintenance window as upgrades may require system downtime
  6. Follow Cisco's standard IMC software upgrade procedure for your hardware platform (UCS C-Series, UCS S-Series, or UCS Manager)
  7. After upgrade, verify the new version is installed and the vulnerability is resolved
  8. Confirm the web-based management interface is functioning normally
Caveat Software upgrades may require downtime and should be tested in a staging environment first; review Cisco IMC upgrade documentation for compatibility requirements

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2026-20094 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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