CVE-2026-20092
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows authenticated local administrators with read-only access in Cisco Intersight Virtual Appliance to escalate privileges to root by exploiting improper file permissions. It affects users of Cisco Intersight Virtual Appliance who have administrative access to the maintenance shell. Successful exploitation grants full control over the appliance, enabling data theft, configuration changes, and denial of service.
💻 Affected Systems
- Cisco Intersight Virtual Appliance
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker gains root access, leading to complete compromise of the appliance, including access to sensitive data, modification of workloads, and potential DoS.
Likely Case
Privilege escalation by an insider or compromised admin account, resulting in unauthorized root-level actions on the appliance.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if strict access controls and monitoring are in place, preventing unauthorized admin access.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation is straightforward for users with the required access but requires local presence.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check Cisco advisory for specific patched versions.
Vendor Advisory: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-intersight-privesc-p6tBm6jk
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Review the Cisco advisory for affected versions. 2. Apply the recommended patch or upgrade to a fixed version. 3. Restart the virtual appliance as required.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Administrative Access
allLimit access to the maintenance shell to only trusted administrators and monitor for unauthorized usage.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Enforce strict access controls and least privilege for admin accounts.
- Monitor system logs for unusual file permission changes or privilege escalation attempts.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the appliance version against the Cisco advisory; if running an affected version and using administrative access, it is vulnerable.Check Version:
Use the appliance's CLI or web interface to check the current software version (exact command varies by deployment).Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify the version is updated to a fixed release as specified in the advisory.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Log entries showing unauthorized file permission changes or root privilege escalation in maintenance shell logs.
Network Indicators:
- None, as this is a local exploit.
SIEM Query:
Search for events related to administrative login attempts followed by file modification activities on the Intersight appliance.