CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-20340NVD status: Awaiting Analysis

Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC): Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-20340 is a high-severity deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) 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 Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) versions: 7.0.0; 7.0.0.1; 7.0.1, 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 0.74% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 55% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
CiscoCisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC)7.0.0; 7.0.0.1; 7.0.1; 7.0.1.1; 7.0.2; 7.2.0; 7.0.2.1; 7.0.3; and 32 more rangesNot 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

A vulnerability in Cisco Secure FMC Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands at the root privilege level. This vulnerability is due to unsecured deserialization of web-management user-controlled data. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to the device and sending a crafted HTTP payload. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to save the crafted payload and then execute it on the underlying operating system as root. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid credentials for a user account with at least the role of Security Analyst (read-only).

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Deserialization of Untrusted Data

The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • If available, use the signing/sealing features of the programming language to assure that deserialized data has not been tainted. For example, a hash-based message authentication code (HMAC) could be used to ensure that data has not been modified.
  • When deserializing data, populate a new object rather than just deserializing. The result is that the data flows through safe input validation and that the functions are safe.
  • Explicitly define a final object() to prevent deserialization.

More Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerabilities (CWE-502)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC)

All Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) vulnerabilities

Recent Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerabilities

Spotted an error? Tell us.