Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

highCVE-2026-20151

A vulnerability in the web interface of Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem (SSM On-Prem) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privileges on an affected system. This vulnerability is due to the improper transmission of sensitive user information. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted message to an affected Cisco SSM On-Prem host and retrieving session credentials from subsequent status messages. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges on the affected system from low to administrative. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid credentials for a user account with at least the role of System User. Note: This vulnerability exposes information only about users who logged in to the Cisco SSM On-Prem host using the web interface and who are currently logged in. SSH sessions are not affected. 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-cssm-priv-esc-xRAnOuO8 Security Impact Rating: High CVE: CVE-2026-20151

CSIRTS triage

vendor: Cisco product: Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem Privilege escalation

What: A vulnerability allows an authenticated remote attacker to elevate privileges on the system.
Who is affected: Authenticated users with System User role on Cisco SSM On-Prem.
Urgency: Remediation is urgent due to the potential for privilege escalation.
Action: Update Cisco SSM On-Prem to the latest version to mitigate the vulnerability.

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: high
Published: 2026-04-01
Exploitation: Not in CISA KEV at last sync

Original advisory: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cssm-priv-esc-xRAnOuO8?vs_f=Cisco%20Security%20Advisory%26vs_cat=Security%20Intelligence%26vs_type=RSS%26vs_p=Cisco%20Smart%20Software%20Manager%20On-Prem%20Privilege%20Escalation%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-2026-201510.27% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 19% of all scored CVEs.

Referenced CVEs

CVE	CSIRTS overview	External
CVE-2026-20151	coverage & exploitation status	NVD · CVE.org

Recent advisories for Cisco Smart Software

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.

criticalCisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem Arbitrary Command Execution Vulnerabilitycisco-psirt · 2026-04-01
criticalexploitedCVE-2018-0156: Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software Smart Install Denial-of-Service Vulnerabilitycisa-kev · 2022-03-03
criticalexploitedCVE-2018-0171: Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Smart Install Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilitycisa-kev · 2021-11-03