Cisco UCS and UCS-Based Appliances UEFI Shell Secure Boot Bypass Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Shell implementation of Cisco UCS Servers and UCS-based appliances could allow an authenticated attacker with valid credentials for a user account with the role of user or admin or an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to an affected device to bypass UEFI Secure Boot validation checks and execute unauthorized software. This vulnerability is due to the availability of memory write commands in the UEFI Shell while UEFI Secure Boot is enabled on a device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by selecting the UEFI Shell boot option at boot time and using available shell commands to modify UEFI memory variables. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to manipulate the preboot environment, overwrite UEFI Secure Boot-related memory values, and execute unauthorized software on the affected device. 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-ucs-uefi-sb-bypass-eb6xC5GW Security Impact Rating: High CVE: CVE-2026-20293
Details
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-2026-202930.13% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 3% of all EPSS-scored CVEs.
Referenced CVEs
| CVE | CSIRTS overview | External |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-20293 | coverage & exploitation status | NVD · CVE.org |
Same CVEs, other sources
How other CERTs, PSIRTs and databases cover the vulnerabilities in this advisory.
- medium[UPDATE] [mittel] Insyde UEFI Firmware und Cisco UCS (UEFI Shell Secure Boot): Schwachstelle ermöglicht Umgehe…cert-bund
- unknownVulnérabilité dans les produits Cisco (09 septembre 2026)cert-fr-avis
- highCVE-2026-20293: A vulnerability in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Shell implementation of Ci…nvd
Recent advisories for Cisco UCS and
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.
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