CVE-2026-20967
Published: 10 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-20967 is a high-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability in Microsoft System Center Operations Manager. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 24.5th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Directly requires validation of information inputs to prevent exploitation of the improper input validation vulnerability (CWE-20) in System Center Operations Manager.
Mandates timely flaw remediation, such as applying vendor patches for this CVE to eliminate the privilege escalation vulnerability.
Enforces least privilege to restrict the scope and impact of privilege escalation from low-privileged network access.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
The vulnerability enables privilege escalation from low privileges (PR:L) over the network (AV:N) with no user interaction, directly facilitating T1068: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation.
NVD Description
Improper input validation in System Center Operations Manager allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-20967 is an improper input validation vulnerability (CWE-20) affecting Microsoft System Center Operations Manager. Published on 2026-03-10T18:18:05.987, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to its potential for significant impact.
An attacker with low privileges (PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity and no user interaction required. Successful exploitation allows privilege escalation, granting high-impact access to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.
The Microsoft Security Response Center advisory provides details on mitigation and patches at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20967.
Details
- CWE(s)