CVE-2026-20242: Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Software Java Deserialization Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Telemetry drift only. No threshold crossed and no authority ruling changed.
CVE record, CISA KEV and EPSS as of 2026-10-18.
CVEs like this one computed, by meaning
What to do now held facts and links
- No fix version is held. The CNA's first reference is the place to look: sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
- Record your decision, dated and frozen with today's evidence: patch by a date · mitigated by a compensating control · deferred · accepted the risk · not affected
- Check your version against the ranges this record publishes.
What it is stated by the CNA
A vulnerability in the External Database Access feature of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insecure deserialization of a user-supplied Java byte stream from a host that is configured in the external database access list. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted, serialized Java byte stream to a specific TCP port of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the device and elevate privileges to root. Notes: This vulnerability can be exploited only by an attacker who has control of a host in the external database access list. If the FMC management interface does not have public internet access, the attack surface that is associated with…
- weakness
- CWE-502 Deserialization of Untrusted Data
- affected
- Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC)
- versions
- No affected-version range in held sources.
- fixed in
- No fix version in held sources.
- severity
- 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- assigned by
- cisco
- published
- 2026-09-16
check us sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
Exploit code held, dated
- exploit code
- None held in the PoC-in-GitHub feed. A public repository changes this brief.
Outside the record researched, cited
This section reads the record's references and adds cited findings from outside it. It needs an account. Everything above is held facts and is complete without it.
What would change this brief held, dated
- CISA KEV
- Not listed in the catalogue we hold. A listing changes this brief.
- exploit probability
- 0.01 on 2026-09-17 (FIRST's EPSS, a probability and not evidence of exploitation). Next band line: 10% (0.10). Crossing a line changes this brief.
- fix
- No fix version is held. One published by the CNA or OSV changes this brief.
How to check this
Every value above is held with two dates: when it was true upstream (as_of) and when we recorded it (tx_from). Re-derive the exploit probability as it stood on any date:
SELECT value, source, source_version, as_of, tx_from
FROM volatile_valid_as_of('CVE-2026-20242', '2026-10-30T23:59:59.999999Z', now());