# CVE-2026-20136: Cisco ISE command injection in CLI

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-20136-cisco-ise-command-injection-in-cli  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-04-15. Updated: 2026-07-02  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-20136 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6 · Published 2026-04-15

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), a platform used to manage secure network access, contains a security flaw in its command-line interface. An authorized administrator with local access could exploit this flaw to gain full control (root access) over the underlying operating system. While this requires existing administrative credentials, a successful attack could allow a user to bypass intended security restrictions and compromise the integrity of the identity management system.

Technologies: [Cisco Identity Services Engine](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/identity-services-engine), [Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/ise-passive-identity-connector). Vendors: [Cisco](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/cisco).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-20136 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-20136 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-20136?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6, published 15 April 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Cisco Identity Services Engine 3.3 and earlier, 3.4, 3.5; Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector 3.3 and earlier, 3.4, 3.5.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-20136?** A patch was published on 2026-04-15: Fixed releases 3.3 Patch 11, 3.4 Patch 6, and 3.5 Patch 3 made available. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-20136 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a network appliance.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-20136?** Check whether you run Cisco Identity Services Engine or Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

A command injection vulnerability exists in the Command Line Interface (CLI) of Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC due to improper encoding or escaping of output (CWE-116) and insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker with local access and high administrative privileges (PR:H) can exploit this by providing crafted input to specific CLI commands. Successful exploitation allows the execution of arbitrary commands on the underlying Linux operating system with root-level privileges. Cisco has released fixed software versions (3.3 Patch 11, 3.4 Patch 6, and 3.5 Patch 3) to address this issue; no workarounds are available.

## Affected products

- Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) 3.3 and earlier, 3.4, 3.5
- Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) 3.3 and earlier, 3.4, 3.5

## Timeline

- 2026-04-15: advisory: Initial public release of Cisco advisory cisco-sa-ise-cmd-inj-5WSJcYJB
- 2026-04-15: patched: Fixed releases 3.3 Patch 11, 3.4 Patch 6, and 3.5 Patch 3 made available.

## References

- [https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-cmd-inj-5WSJcYJB](https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-cmd-inj-5WSJcYJB)

## Related threats

- [Cisco Identity Services Engine authorization bypass in management interface](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-20183-a-vulnerability-in-the-web-based-management-interface-of-cisco)
- [Cisco Identity Services Engine authorization bypass in certificate enrollment](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-20241-a-vulnerability-in-the-authorization-mechanism-of-cisco-identity)
- [A vulnerability in an API of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication.](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-76460-cisco-identity-services-engine-incorrect-privileged-api-use)
- [Cisco ISE SQL and HQL injection in APIs](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-76451-cisco-ise-sql-and-hql-injection-in-apis)
- [Cisco Identity Services Engine SQL and HQL injection](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-76450-cisco-identity-services-engine-sql-and-hql-injection)