Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information
CVE-2026-20312 is a high-severity cleartext storage of sensitive information vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller from Cisco, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller versions: 20.6.4; 20.9.2; 20.3.6, and others listed below. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.31% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco | Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller | 20.6.4; 20.9.2; 20.3.6; 20.7.2; 20.7.1; 20.5.1; 20.6.2; 19.3.0; and 32 more ranges | Not stated |
| Cisco | Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager | 20.1.12; 19.2.1; 18.4.4; 18.4.5; 20.1.1.1; 20.1.1; 19.3.0; 19.2.2; and 32 more ranges | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (cisco.com).
Official description
As part of Cisco's ongoing commitment to proactive security and product quality, the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN engineering team has conducted a comprehensive internal security review. This review resulted in software hardening releases that address multiple internally discovered vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities tracked by CVE-2026-20312 are related to Cleartext storage of sensitive information issues that are grouped under the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) CWE-312.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information
The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to encrypt the data at rest.
- In some systems/environments such as cloud, the use of double encryption (at both the software and hardware layer) might be required, and the developer might be solely responsible for both layers, instead of shared responsibility with the administrator of the broader system/environment.
More Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information vulnerabilities (CWE-312)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller
- 7.7 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 9.9 Critical severity
- 9.9 Critical severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 10.0 Critical severity
Recent Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information vulnerabilities
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.2 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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