Cisco Crosswork Network Controller Server-Side Template Injection Vulnerability

mediumCVE-2026-20220

A 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. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability. This advisory is available at the following link: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cnc-inj-QNMeEmxk Security Impact Rating: Medium CVE: CVE-2026-20220

CSIRTS triage

vendor: Cisco product: Crosswork Network Controller Remote code execution

What: A server-side template injection vulnerability could allow an authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands.
Who is affected: Authenticated users with template user credentials on the affected Cisco Crosswork Network Controller.
Urgency: Remediation is urgent due to the potential for arbitrary command execution.
Action: Users should apply the software updates released by Cisco.

AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.

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Details

Source: Cisco Security Advisories (INTL · vendor-psirt · site)
Severity: medium
Published: 2026-06-17
Exploitation: Not in CISA KEV at last sync

Original advisory: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cnc-inj-QNMeEmxk?vs_f=Cisco%20Security%20Advisory%26vs_cat=Security%20Intelligence%26vs_type=RSS%26vs_p=Cisco%20Crosswork%20Network%20Controller%20Server-Side%20Template%20Injection%20Vulnerability%26vs_k=1

Exploitation outlook

EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.

Low exploitation riskCVE-2026-202200.25% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 17% of all EPSS-scored CVEs.

Referenced CVEs

CVE	CSIRTS overview	External
CVE-2026-20220	coverage & exploitation status	NVD · CVE.org

Recent advisories for Cisco Crosswork Network

A cluster of recent advisories against the same product widens the attack surface — attackers routinely chain freshly published CVEs on one product, so review these together.

unknownCisco Crosswork Network Controller and Cisco Network Services Orchestrator Advisorycisco-psirt · 2026-05-14