High severity · published Sep 30, 2022
CVE-2022-20775
Cisco SD-WAN Software Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
In wildKEV
7.8
CVSS
12.5%
EPSS
Yes
On KEV
Description
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco SD-WAN Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to gain elevated privileges.
This vulnerability is due to improper access controls on commands within the application CLI. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by running a maliciously crafted command on the application CLI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as the root user.
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sd-wan-priv-E6e8tEdF
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)12.5% · higher than 96% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildYes
CISA KEVListed Feb 25, 2026
Federal remediation dueFeb 27, 2026
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
CC
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN · Cisco
18.3.1; 19.2.1; 17.2.4; 19.3.0; 18.3.0; 18.3.4; +34 more · source: vendor
CC
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager · Cisco
20.1.12; 19.2.1; 18.4.4; 18.4.5; 20.1.1.1; 20.1.1; +34 more · source: vendor
CS
Cisco SD-WAN vContainer · Cisco
18.4.5; 20.1.12; 18.3.6; 19.2.1; 19.3.0; 20.1.1; +30 more · source: vendor
CS
Cisco SD-WAN vEdge Cloud · Cisco
19.2.1; 20.1.12; 18.4.4; 19.3.0; 18.3.8; 19.2.2; +34 more · source: vendor
CS
Cisco SD-WAN vEdge Router · Cisco
18.4.303; 18.3.7; 19.3.0; 18.2.0; 20.1.12; 19.2.099; +34 more · source: vendor
CS
Catalyst Sd-wan Manager · Cisco
before 20.6.3; 20.7 before 20.7.2; 20.8 · source: NVD
SD
Sd-wan · Cisco
before 20.6.3; 20.7 before 20.7.2; 20.8 · source: NVD, KEV
SV
Sd-wan Vbond Orchestrator · Cisco
before 20.6.3; 20.7 before 20.7.2; 20.8 · source: NVD
SV
Sd-wan Vedge Cloud · Cisco
before 20.6.3; 20.7 before 20.7.2; 20.8 · source: NVD
SV
Sd-wan Vsmart Controller · Cisco
before 20.6.3; 20.7 before 20.7.2; 20.8 · source: NVD
In the news
AdvisoryHigh
CISA and Partners Release Guidance for Ongoing Global Exploitation of Cisco SD-WAN Systems
The purpose of this Alert is to provide resources for organizations with Cisco Software-Defined Wide-Area Networking (SD-WAN) systems, including Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies, to address ongoing exploitation of multiple vulnerabilities. Notably, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added CVE-2026-20127 and CVE-2022-20775 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog on Feb. 25, 2026. As a result of the malicious cyber activity and vulnerabilities involving Cisco SD-WAN systems, CISA has outlined requirements for FCEB agencies in Emergency Directive (ED) 26-03 to inventory Cisco SD-WAN systems, update them, and assess compromise.
CISA and partners have observed malicious cyber actors targeting and compromising Cisco SD-WAN systems of organizations, globally. These actors have been observed exploiting a previously undisclosed authentication bypass vulnerability, CVE-2026-20127, for initial access before escalating privileges using CVE-2022-20775 and establishing long-term persistence in Cisco SD-WAN systems.
CISA, National Security Agency (NSA), and international partners Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC), Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre), New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ), and United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK), hereafter the “authoring organizations,” strongly urge network defenders to immediatel...
Feb 25, 2026·CISA Advisories
AdvisoryMedium
CISA Adds Two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog
CISA has added two new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog , based on evidence of active exploitation.
CVE-2022-20775 Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Path Traversal Vulnerability
CVE-2026-20127 Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller and Manager Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
These types of vulnerabilities are frequent attack vectors for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise.
Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01: Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities established the KEV Catalog as a living list of known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) that carry significant risk to the federal enterprise. BOD 22-01 requires Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to remediate identified vulnerabilities by the due date to protect FCEB networks against active threats. See the BOD 22-01 Fact Sheet for more information.
Although BOD 22-01 only applies to FCEB agencies, CISA strongly urges all organizations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritizing timely remediation of KEV Catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the catalog that meet the specified criteria .
Feb 25, 2026·CISA Advisories
VulnerabilityCritical
[CISA KEV] CVE-2022-20775: Cisco SD-WAN - Cisco SD-WAN Path Traversal Vulnerability
Cisco SD-WAN CLI contains a path traversal vulnerability that could allow an authenticated local attacker to gain elevated privileges via improper access controls on commands within the application CLI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as the root user.
SDSD-WANCVE-2022-20775
Feb 25, 2026·CISA KEV
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-20775
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-20775
CISA KEV catalogue
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
sec.cloudapps.cisco.com
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sd-wan-priv-E6e8tEdF
