Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager XML External Entity Injection Vulnerability
CVE-2026-20224 is an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability in the web UI of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, formerly SD-WAN vManage. The flaw is caused by improper handling of XML External Entity entries while parsing XML input. A remote attacker can send a crafted request containing malicious XML to an affected system and, without valid credentials, trigger XML parser behavior that discloses local files stored on the appliance.
Are you exposed to this one?
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Impact, mitigation & remediation
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
Impact
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
Mitigation
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Remediation
Patch, then assume compromise.
Exploits
1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
Repository is a small standalone PoC for CVE-2026-20224 targeting Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager. The main exploit logic is in a single Python script, 'Cisco Catalyst.py', supported by a malicious DTD file ('xxe.dtd'), a usage example file, expected output sample, affected versions list, and README. The Python script uses requests, argparse, urllib3, and colorama to send crafted XML payloads to multiple likely Cisco /dataservice endpoints over HTTP or HTTPS. It supports two exploitation modes: in-band XXE arbitrary file read, where file contents may be reflected in the HTTP response, and blind XXE with out-of-band exfiltration via an attacker-controlled callback server hosting /xxe.dtd. The script iterates through several candidate upload/import/restore endpoints, checks responses for indicators such as passwd content, and can save returned data locally. It also includes a curated list of sensitive target files specific to Linux and Cisco vManage/SD-WAN Manager deployments, including configuration files, logs, database files, certificates, and SSH material. Overall, this is an operational exploit PoC for unauthenticated web-based arbitrary file read, not merely a detector.
Affected products & vendors
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
Recent activity
11 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
An information disclosure vulnerability affecting Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager.
An unauthenticated arbitrary file-read vulnerability in the web UI of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager caused by improper handling of XML External Entity (XXE) entries during XML parsing.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Authentication Bypass Vulnerability referenced in the advisory notice.
The version that knows your environment.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.