CVE-2022-20775

Cisco SD-WAN Software Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Exploited in the wild. In CISA KEV since 2026‑02‑25. A vendor fix is available.

CVSS 3.17.8High EPSS percentile96th12% chance in 30 days CISA KEVListedsince 2026-02-25, due 2026-02-27
Public exploit: 0 sources FixVendor fixNo build named by the sources

Published 2022-09-30Updated 2026-02-26Sources: CVE.org, NVD, BDU

NVD CVE.org

What to do

The vendor has published a fix. Version details are below where the sources state them.

Check it yourselfA free OpenVAS check exists for this CVE. Run it against your hosts.Is your organisation exposed?Request an assessment to establish which checks fit your systems.

What it is

From the CVE record

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

In plain language

No plain-language summary for this CVE yet.

Exploitation

Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.

EPSS96th

Public exploit

CISA KEV

Listed as exploited in the wild since 2026-02-25.

US federal agencies must remediate by 2026-02-27.

Please adhere to CISA’s guidelines to assess exposure and mitigate risks associated with Cisco SD-WAN devices as outlines in CISA’s Emergency Directive 26-03 (URL listed below in Notes) and CISA’s “Hunt & Hardening Guidance for Cisco SD-WAN Devices (URL listed below in Notes). Adhere to the applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are not available.

Public exploits

0 sources with a proof of concept or module.

Exploit links, PoCs and Metasploit modules after sign-in

EPSS

12% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 96th percentile of scored CVEs.

Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.

Lifecycle

8 events over 1364 days, from the signal feeds we watch.

2026-06-25OpenVAS check added
2026-06-22EPSS band changelow → moderate
2026-02-26Patch availablerecord updated
2026-02-25Added to CISA KEV
2022-09-30Publishedweakness classified, att&ck mapped

Affected products

Cisco Systems Inc.commercial · USaka cisco, cisco systems

And 6 more affected products. See all after sign-in

Technical detail

CVSS 3.1 vector

Open in the CVSS calculator

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Scored 7.8 by NVD.

How it is reached

Attack Vector LocalRequires local access to the vulnerable system (e.g. local login, malicious file)
Attack Complexity LowNo special conditions — the attack can be reliably reproduced
Privileges Required LowRequires basic user-level privileges
User Interaction NoneNo user interaction needed — fully automated exploitation

Scope

Scope UnchangedImpact is limited to the vulnerable component itself

Impact if exploited

Confidentiality HighTotal information disclosure — all data in the component is compromised
Integrity HighTotal loss of integrity — attacker can modify any data in the component
Availability HighTotal denial of service — the component is completely unavailable