Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Software Java Deserialization Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-20242 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | cisco |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-16 20:17:22 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-18 04:17:34 UTC |
| Description | 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 this vulnerability is reduced. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 9.8 CRITICAL from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Problem Types: CWE-502 | CWE-502 Deserialization of Untrusted Data
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 9.8 | CRITICAL | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSSV3_1 | 9.8 | CRITICAL | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-fmc-ja... | [email protected] | sec.cloudapps.cisco.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
Additional Advisory Data
Exploits
CNA: The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability that is described in this advisory.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.