Crosswork Network ControllerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2026-20220
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 Crosswork Network Controller could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation in the configuration template engine of the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system in limited areas of the file system. This vulnerability affects only areas of the operating system for which the template user has write permissions. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid template user credentials with write permissions. Template users with read permissions cannot exploit 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 confidenceCommand injection vulnerability in Cisco Crosswork Network Controller's web-based management interface allows authenticated users with write permissions to execute arbitrary OS commands through insufficiently validated input in the configuration template engine. The attacker exploits this by sending crafted requests to the template engine, with impact limited to areas where the template user has write permissions.
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
Crosswork Network ControllerApplication
< 7.1.3= 7.2.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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 installed Cisco Crosswork Network Controller versionAccess the web-based management interface and navigate to Administration > System > Software/Version, or use CLI command 'show version' on the Crosswork applianceAffected if The displayed version is lower than 7.1.3 or exactly 7.2.0
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Verify template engine accessibilityConfirm the configuration template engine feature is accessible in the web UI under Optimization > Template or similar template management sectionAffected if The template engine interface is present and accessible to authenticated users
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Identify users with template write permissionsReview user accounts and their assigned roles in Administration > User Management > Users/Roles, specifically looking for any role granting Write or Admin privileges on template resourcesAffected if Any user account possesses write or admin permissions on the template engine
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Audit recent template operationsReview template operation logs, audit logs, or system logs for any template create/edit operations with unusual or suspicious parameter contentAffected if Template operations contain unexpected characters or patterns indicative of injection attempts
A user is affected if their Cisco Crosswork Network Controller version is below 7.1.3 or exactly 7.2.0, AND the template engine is accessible to authenticated users with write permissions.
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 · scoped7.1.3
Restrict template user accounts to read-only permissions where possible and apply least-privilege principles to all template users. Monitor for suspicious template operations and apply Cisco's official patch when available.
7.1.3 or later (for <7.1.3); 7.2.1 or later (for 7.2.0)
- 1. Identify the current installed version of Cisco Crosswork Network Controller
- 2. If running a version < 7.1.3, plan upgrade to version 7.1.3 or later
- 3. If running version 7.2.0, plan upgrade to version 7.2.1 or later (7.2.x stable release)
- 4. Before upgrading, backup current configuration following Cisco backup procedures
- 5. Schedule maintenance window as upgrade may require downtime
- 6. Download the appropriate software from Cisco.com (requires valid Cisco service contract)
- 7. Follow Cisco Crosswork Network Controller upgrade documentation for your target version
- 8. After upgrade, verify the template engine functionality works correctly
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Crosswork Network Controller
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,040.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-20220 — 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-2026-20220 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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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.
- 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