Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-20284

Published
16 September 2026
Modified
18 September 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 9.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0039 33th percentile
Risk Priority 58 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-2026-20284 is a critical-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Data Query Logic (CWE-943) vulnerability in Cisco ISE (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.1 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 33th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability in the SXP REST API of Cisco ISE could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct SQL injection attacks. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input in REST API calls. An attacker could exploit this…

more

vulnerability by sending crafted input to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to view or modify data on the underlying database for the affected device. In single-node deployments, successful exploitation of this vulnerability could cause the affected ISE node to become unavailable, resulting in a DoS condition. In that condition, endpoints that have not already authenticated would be unable to access the network until the node is restored. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials, have the SXP service enabled, and have at least one SXP connection configured.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-88023Shared CWE-943
CVE-2025-33114Shared CWE-943
CVE-2026-88034Shared CWE-943
CVE-2026-63637Shared CWE-943
CVE-2026-45689Shared CWE-943
CVE-2026-88028Shared CWE-943
CVE-2026-88027Shared CWE-943
CVE-2026-40141Shared CWE-943
CVE-2026-32248Shared CWE-943
CVE-2026-46591Shared CWE-943

Affected Assets

Cisco
ISE
inferred from references and description; NVD did not file a CPE for this CVE

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Input validation directly stops unneutralized special elements from reaching query logic.

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-06 partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require parameterized queries and input neutralization to prevent query-logic injection.

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.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and query parameterization that directly prevent injection flaws.

prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection and improper query construction.

prevents

Secure architecture principles reduce the likelihood of query-logic flaws but do not prescribe the specific coding practice.

prevents

Secure coding standards require proper neutralization of special elements in all data queries.

finds

Security testing in development catches injection vulnerabilities before release but does not itself implement the fix.

prevents

Outsourced development agreements can require secure coding practices, indirectly mitigating the weakness.

References