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major vulnerability· requires attention

Widely deployed Cisco ISE/ISE-PIC; authenticated RCE with root privileges; potential DoS disruption.

Infrastructure

CVE-2026-20147

9.9
Critical
EPSS 10%Patch availableApr 16, 2026

Authenticated RCE and root privilege escalation on Cisco ISE/ISE-PIC.

common questions

Is CVE-2026-20147 being exploited?

Not confirmed. CVE-2026-20147 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 10% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How severe is CVE-2026-20147?

CVE-2026-20147 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.9. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.

Is there a patch for CVE-2026-20147?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-20147. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2026-20147 affect?

CVE-2026-20147 affects Cisco ISE, Cisco ISE-PIC. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

What should I do about CVE-2026-20147?

Patch when available; upgrade to fixed version.

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

executive summary
technical analysis
affected
Cisco ISECisco ISE-PIC
impact

Authenticated attacker can run arbitrary OS commands and escalate to root; DoS risk on single-node ISE deployments.

action required

Immediate action required

affected versions
Cisco Cisco Identity Services Engine Software
  • affected3.1.0
  • affected3.1.0 p1
  • affected3.1.0 p3
  • affected3.1.0 p2
  • affected3.2.0
  • affected3.1.0 p4
  • affected3.1.0 p5
  • affected3.2.0 p1
  • affected3.1.0 p6
  • affected3.2.0 p2
  • affected3.1.0 p7
  • affected3.3.0
  • affected3.2.0 p3
  • affected3.2.0 p4
  • affected3.1.0 p8
  • affected3.2.0 p5
  • affected3.2.0 p6
  • affected3.1.0 p9
  • affected3.3 Patch 2
  • affected3.3 Patch 1
  • affected3.3 Patch 3
  • affected3.4.0
  • affected3.2.0 p7
  • affected3.3 Patch 4
  • affected3.4 Patch 1
  • affected3.1.0 p10
  • affected3.3 Patch 5
  • affected3.3 Patch 6
  • affected3.4 Patch 2
  • affected3.3 Patch 7
  • affected3.4 Patch 3
  • affected3.5.0
  • affected3.4 Patch 4
  • affected3.3 Patch 8
  • affected3.2 Patch 8
  • affected3.5 Patch 1
  • affected3.3 Patch 9
  • affected3.2 Patch 9
  • affected3.4 Patch 5
  • affected3.5 Patch 2
Cisco Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector
  • affected3.2.0
  • affected3.1.0
  • affected3.3.0
  • affected3.4.0

As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.

how to fix
Remediation steps are tailored for users whose stack is affected. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
references
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