CVE-2026-20097
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco IMC could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with admin-level privileges to execute arbitrary code as the root user. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input to the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system as the root user. Cisco has assigned this vulnerability a SIR of High rather than Medium as the score indicates because additional security implications could occur when the attacker becomes root.
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 confidenceThis is a command injection vulnerability in Cisco IMC's web-based management interface. An authenticated attacker with admin-level privileges can send crafted HTTP requests containing malicious input that is improperly validated, allowing arbitrary code execution as the root user on the underlying operating system.
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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Cisco IMC is accessibleAttempt to access the IMC web interface HTTPS port (typically port 443 or 8443) on the target host. Check if the login page responds.Affected if The IMC web interface is reachable and responds to HTTP/HTTPS requests.
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Identify the IMC versionLog into the IMC web interface and navigate to the Admin or Settings section to view the firmware/software version. Alternatively, use the CLI: 'show version' or 'ipmitool -I lanplus -H <host> -U admin -P <pass> mc info'.Affected if The installed version is lower than the version Cisco has listed as patched for CVE-2026-20097.
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Verify admin-level accounts existCheck the IMC user database through the web interface under User Management or Administration > Users. Confirm that accounts with Administrator privileges are configured.Affected if At least one admin-level user account is enabled and functional.
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Confirm web-based management is enabledReview IMC settings to verify the web-based management interface is enabled (HTTP/HTTPS access). Check via CLI: 'ipmitool -I lanplus -H <host> -U admin -P <pass> raw 0x32 0x76 0x01 0x00' or check web service status.Affected if The web interface service is running and accepting connections.
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Review HTTP request logs for suspicious patternsExamine IMC web server logs (typically stored in /var/log or accessible via the interface) for unusual or malformed HTTP requests, especially those containing shell metacharacters like ; | & $ ( ) or backticks.Affected if Logs show unexpected HTTP requests with potential command injection payloads.
A system is affected if it runs a Cisco IMC version lower than the patched version, has the web-based management interface enabled, and has admin-level users configured.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply Cisco's available patches for this vulnerability. Until patched, limit access to the IMC web interface to trusted administrators only and monitor for suspicious HTTP requests.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-20097 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-20097 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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