Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2026-20129
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 API user authentication of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain access to an affected system as a user who has the netadmin role. The vulnerability is due to improper authentication for requests that are sent to the API. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the API of an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands with the privileges of the netadmin role. Note: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager releases 20.18 and later are not affected by this vulnerability.
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 confidenceAn authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager's API allows unauthenticated remote attackers to craft requests that grant them netadmin role privileges, enabling command execution on the affected system.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication
< 20.9.8.2>= 20.11, < 20.12.5.3>= 20.13, < 20.15.4.2>= 20.16, < 20.18= 20.12.6CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager versionLog into the SD-WAN Manager web interface or CLI and navigate to the Administration > System Management > Software Updates section, or use the 'show version' command in the CLI to retrieve the current software versionAffected if The version displayed is less than 20.9.8.2, or falls within any of these ranges: 20.11.x through 20.12.5.2, 20.13.x through 20.15.4.1, 20.16.x through 20.17.x, or exactly 20.12.6
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Determine if the SD-WAN Manager API is network-accessibleReview firewall rules, access lists, or network segmentation configurations to identify whether TCP ports 443 (HTTPS) or 8080 are exposed to untrusted networks or the internetAffected if The API ports are reachable from networks that contain untrusted or unknown users
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Verify API authentication configurationAccess the SD-WAN Manager administration panel and navigate to the API settings or authentication configuration section to confirm whether API authentication is properly enforcedAffected if API requests can be submitted without valid authentication credentials or tokens
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Check for unauthorized netadmin-level accessReview SD-WAN Manager audit logs, user activity logs, or authentication logs for any API calls that executed with netadmin privileges from unrecognized IP addresses or without proper authentication recordsAffected if Logs show API commands executed with netadmin privileges that originated from unexpected sources or lack valid authentication evidence
You are affected if your installed Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager version falls within any of the vulnerable version ranges AND the API interface is accessible from untrusted networks, or if evidence of unauthorized netadmin API access exists in your logs.
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.
dbcve · scoped20.9.8.220.12.5.320.15.4.2
Upgrade to Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager release 20.18 or later; if immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict network access to the API endpoints as a temporary compensating control.
Upgrade to Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager version 20.18 or later (e.g., 20.18.x, 20.19.x, or latest stable release)
- 1. Identify the current installed version of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager
- 2. Determine if the current version falls within any of the affected ranges: < 20.9.8.2, >= 20.11 and < 20.12.5.3, >= 20.13 and < 20.15.4.2, or >= 20.16 and < 20.18
- 3. If affected, plan an upgrade to version 20.18 or later (20.18.x, 20.19.x, etc.)
- 4. Review Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager upgrade documentation for your deployment model
- 5. Create a backup of the current configuration
- 6. Perform the upgrade following Cisco's standard upgrade procedures
- 7. After upgrade, verify the system is functioning correctly and the vulnerability is resolved
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Catalyst Sd Wan Manager
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-20129 — 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-2026-20129 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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