CVE-2026-5269
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2026-5269 is a critical-severity Use of Default Password (CWE-1393) vulnerability in Ciena (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Valid Accounts (T1078); ranked at the 41th 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 CM-6 (Configuration Settings) and IA-5 (Authenticator Management) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-44574
Vulnerability Data
In Ciena's Navigator Network Control Suite (NCS) and Manage Control Plan (MCP), there are hidden system accounts used for internal software operations. Some of these accounts have default passwords that may be predictable. While these accounts have very limited permissions…
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on their own, an attacker could combine an attack using one of these accounts with other potential weaknesses to launch a more significant attack, possibly leading to escalation of privilege on the system.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Authenticator management requires verification of identity at initial distribution and secure handling that directly stops default passwords from remaining in use.
Configuration settings establish the most restrictive secure baselines, which include changing or disabling default passwords.
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.
Vulnerability scanning will discover default-password instances, enabling remediation, yet does not itself prevent their initial use.
Credential management directly requires replacing default passwords with unique, strong credentials.
Authentication policies can enforce non-default passwords but do not address the full scope of credential lifecycle.
Authorization policies assume credentials already exist and are not default; least-privilege helps limit impact but does not prevent defaults.
Hardened configuration baselines explicitly prohibit default passwords, covering most of the weakness but not all identity-management aspects.
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.
Mandates secure handling and change of authentication secrets, directly addressing default passwords.
Requires secure authentication mechanisms, which includes replacing or disabling default credentials.
Configuration management processes typically enforce changing defaults during hardening.