CVE-2026-20079
Actively exploited. CVE-2026-20079 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-09-09) — exploitation has been observed in the wild, and US federal agencies are required to remediate it under BOD 22-01. Treat patching as urgent.
Public exploit code is available. Proof-of-concept or working exploit code for CVE-2026-20079 is indexed in Metasploit, GitHub PoC and Nuclei. Expect opportunistic scanning and exploitation attempts — prioritize remediation.
CISA has added four new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog , based on evidence of active exploitation. CVE-2025-25249 Fortinet Multiple Products Heap-based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability CVE-2026-19490 Citrix NetScaler Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel Vulnerability CVE-2026-87491 Google Chromium V8 Out of Bounds Write Vulnerability CVE-2026-20079 Cisco Firewall Management Center Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel Vulnerability These types of vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise. Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04: Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk establishes vulnerability management requirements for Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies. BOD 26-04 reinforces the importance of the KEV Catalog and requires federal agencies to prioritize rapid remediation of high-risk vulnerabilities, specifically those identified by Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) listed in CISA’s KEV Catalog on publicly exposed assets that grant total control of the asset post-exploitation, while deferring action for lower-risk vulnerabilities. BOD 26-04 further establishes basic expectations for when agencies must check whether threat actors compromised the system before the patch was applied. While BOD 26-04 applies only to FCEB agencies, CISA encourages all organizations to adopt risk-based vulnerability management and prioritize remediation of KEV Catalog vulnerabilities . CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the catalog that meet the specified criteria . Aware of an exploited vulnerability not currently listed in the KEV Catalog? Submit it for potential addition through CISA’s KEV Nomination Form . Potential KEV additions must have a CVE ID, evidence of exploitation, and clear mitigation guidance.
CSIRTS triage
- What
- A vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to bypass authentication and gain root access.
- Who is affected
- Deployments of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Software.
- Urgency
- Remediation is critical due to the potential for full system compromise.
- Action
- Apply the released software updates to mitigate this vulnerability.
AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.
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Exploitation outlook
- Exploitation confirmedAlready exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) — the prediction phase is over. Patch now. Riskier than 99.5% of all EPSS-scored CVEs.
Exploit availability
Public exploit or proof-of-concept code for CVE-2026-20079 is indexed in these free datasets. Available exploit code raises real-world risk independent of the CVSS score.
- MetasploitA Metasploit Framework module targets this CVE — weaponized, point-and-click exploitation.look it up ↗
- GitHub PoCPublic proof-of-concept repositories on GitHub reference this CVE.look it up ↗
- NucleiA nuclei-templates detection/PoC template exists for this CVE.look it up ↗
Advisory coverage (7)
- criticalexploited[UPDATE] [kritisch] Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center: Mehrere Schwachstellencert-bund · 2026-09-14
- unknownexploitedNCSC-2026-0076 [1.03] [H/H] Kwetsbaarheden verholpen in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Centerncsc-nl · 2026-09-12
- unknownexploitedNCSC-2026-0076 [1.02] [H/H] Kwetsbaarheden verholpen in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Centerncsc-nl · 2026-09-11
- criticalexploitedCisco security advisory (AV26-197) – Update 3cccs · 2026-09-09
- criticalexploitedCisco Secure Firewall Management Center Software Authentication Bypass Vulnerabilitycisco-psirt · 2026-09-09
- highexploitedCISA Adds Four Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalogcisa · 2026-09-09
- criticalexploitedCVE-2026-20079: Cisco Firewall Management Center Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel Vuln…cisa-kev · 2026-09-09
External references
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[](https://www.csirts.com/cve/CVE-2026-20079)