CVE-2022-20739: Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 29/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.60% (FIRST EPSS).
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
- Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).
Low priority for now. Update when a fix is released; follow the vendor's advisory.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system as the root user. The attacker must be authenticated on the affected system as a low-privileged user to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability exists because a file leveraged by a root user is executed when a low-privileged user runs specific commands on an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting arbitrary commands to a specific file as a lower-privileged user and then waiting until an admin user executes specific commands. The commands would then be executed on the device by the root user. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to escalate their privileges on the affected system from a low-privileged user to the root user.
- Published
- Apr 15, 2022
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.6% · 48th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-269
Report tools
Action score
29
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 29 / 40 · 7.3 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.6%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 7.3
- CNA · cisco
- 7.3
- agree
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- No fixed version yet
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens
Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| cisco | catalyst sd-wan manager | cpe:2.3:a:cisco:catalyst_sd-wan_manager |
| cisco | sd-wan vmanage | cpe:2.3:a:cisco:sd-wan_vmanage |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- cisco catalyst sd-wan manager20.7
- cisco sd-wan vmanagebefore 20.6.1
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (cisco). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Cisco Cisco SD-WAN vManage
- n/aaffected
Same product
cisco: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2026-20182Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass VulnerabilityKEV98Now
- CVE-2026-20127Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass VulnerabilityKEV97Now
- CVE-2026-76504Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager System Account Authorization Bypass VulnerabilityKEV81Now
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2022-20716Apr 15, 2022 · Cisco SD-WAN Solution Improper Access Control Vulnerability31Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2022-20735Apr 15, 2022 · Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software Cross-Site Request Forgery Vulnerability26Monitor
- Later →CVE-2022-20747Apr 15, 2022 · Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software Information Disclosure Vulnerability26Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
—
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
- CVE-2022-20696146 days apartCisco SD-WAN vManage Software Unauthenticated Access to Messaging Services Vulnerability35Monitor
- CVE-2022-20830178 days apartCisco Software-Defined Application Visibility and Control on Cisco vManage Authentication Bypass Vulnerability21Monitor
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)
Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.
- TR-22-0317 · Apr 14, 2022(Cisco Güvenlik Güncellemesi)
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- A user must open a link or visit a page.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-269 · Improper Privilege ManagementCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-primary
Root cause
To simplify setup, a service account is granted broad, cluster-wide permissions. The principle of least privilege is skipped during installation.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-269 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
kind: ClusterRole
rules:
- apiGroups: ["*"]
resources: ["*"]
verbs: ["*"]Fixed
kind: Role
metadata:
namespace: lodos-system
rules:
- apiGroups: ["apps"]
resources: ["deployments"]
verbs: ["get", "list", "update"]Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Change log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.