Security Resilience

CVE-2022-20775

Path Traversal in Cisco Catalyst Sd-Wan Manager ≤ 20.6.3

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCPath Traversal
Published
30 September 2022
Modified
26 February 2026
KEV Added
25 February 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.12 96th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2022-20775 is a high-severity Path Traversal: '/../filedir' (CWE-25) vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst Sd-Wan Manager. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco SD-WAN Software stems from improper access controls on commands. This flaw, tracked as CVE-2022-20775, enables an authenticated local attacker to execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges on affected systems. The issue carries a CVSS score of 7.8 and is associated with CWE-25 and CWE-22.

An authenticated local attacker can exploit the weakness by submitting a maliciously crafted command through the application CLI. A successful attack grants the ability to run arbitrary commands as the root user, potentially leading to full system compromise.

Cisco has published software updates that remediate the vulnerability, and the vendor states that no workarounds are available. The primary advisory is available at the Cisco Security Advisory link referenced in the CVE record.

EPSS scores for this CVE rose from a low baseline to a recorded peak of 0.0104, indicating emerging exploitation interest after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco SD-WAN Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to gain elevated privileges. This vulnerability is due to improper access controls on commands within the application CLI. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by…

more

running a maliciously crafted command on the application CLI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as the root user. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability. https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sd-wan-priv-E6e8tEdF

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
25 February 2026

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
T1001.002 Steganography Command And Control
Adversaries may use steganographic techniques to hide command and control traffic to make detection efforts more difficult.
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
T1006 Direct Volume Access Stealth
Adversaries may directly access a volume to bypass file access controls and file system monitoring.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-20262Same product: Cisco Catalyst Sd-Wan Managerboth on KEV
CVE-2015-0666Same vendor: Ciscoboth on KEV
CVE-2020-3452Same vendor: Ciscoboth on KEV
CVE-2018-0296Same vendor: Ciscoboth on KEV
CVE-2025-20187Same product: Cisco Catalyst Sd-Wan Manager
CVE-2026-20181Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2024-20532Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2026-20180Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2026-20148Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2025-20344Same vendor: Cisco

Affected Assets

cisco
catalyst sd-wan manager
20.8 · ≤ 20.6.3 · 20.7 — 20.7.2
cisco
sd-wan vbond orchestrator
20.8 · ≤ 20.6.3 · 20.7 — 20.7.2
cisco
sd-wan vedge cloud
20.8 · ≤ 20.6.3 · 20.7 — 20.7.2
cisco
sd-wan vsmart controller
20.8 · ≤ 20.6.3 · 20.7 — 20.7.2
cisco
sd-wan
20.8 · ≤ 20.6.3 · 20.7 — 20.7.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and path sanitization that prevent traversal flaws.

PR.AA-05 none match
blocks

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

removes
removes
removes
removes
removes

References