Improper Neutralization in Cisco IOS XR - CVE-2026-20278
Published: September 2, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU146768
CSH Severity: High
CVSS v4: 9.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-20278
CWE-ID: CWE-707
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands or code.
The vulnerability exists due to improper neutralization in Cisco IOS XR Software when processing crafted input. A remote attacker can send crafted input to execute arbitrary commands or code.
The covered issues include improper neutralization of special elements used in a command, improper neutralization of directives in dynamically evaluated code, and improper validation of array indexes, quantities, positions, or offsets in input.
Affected software
Cisco IOS XR
How to mitigate CVE-2026-20278
Install security update from vendor's website.
Cisco IOS XR - addressed in versions 26.2.2, 26.3.1