CVE-2026-20160
A vulnerability in Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem (SSM On-Prem) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected SSM On-Prem host. This vulnerability is due to the unintentional exposure of an internal service. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the API of the exposed service. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system with root -level privileges. 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-ssm-cli-execution-cHUcWuNr Security Impact Rating: Critical CVE: CVE-2026-20160
CSIRTS triage
- What
- A vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system.
- Who is affected
- Deployments of Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem that expose the vulnerable API.
- Urgency
- Remediation is urgent due to the critical nature of the vulnerability and the potential for full system compromise.
- Action
- Apply the software updates released by Cisco to address this vulnerability.
AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.
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Exploitation outlook
- Low exploitation risk0.91% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 56% of all EPSS-scored CVEs.
Advisory coverage (1)
- criticalCisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem Arbitrary Command Execution Vulnerabilitycisco-psirt · 2026-04-01
External references
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