CVE-2026-20045

Published Jan 21, 2026

Last updated 19 days ago

Overview

Description
A vulnerability in Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (Unified CM SME), Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM & Presence Service (Unified CM IM&P), Cisco Unity Connection, and Cisco Webex Calling Dedicated Instance could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device.  This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input in HTTP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a sequence of crafted HTTP requests to the web-based management interface of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain user-level access to the underlying operating system and then elevate privileges to root.  Note: Cisco has assigned this security advisory a Security Impact Rating (SIR) of Critical rather than High as the score indicates. The reason is that exploitation of this vulnerability could result in an attacker elevating privileges to root.
Source
psirt@cisco.com
NVD status
Analyzed
Products
unified_communications_manager, unified_communications_manager_im_and_presence_service, unity_connection

Risk scores

CVSS 3.1

Type
Primary
Base score
9.8
Impact score
5.9
Exploitability score
3.9
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Severity
CRITICAL

Known exploits

Data from CISA

Vulnerability name
Cisco Unified Communications Products Code Injection Vulnerability
Exploit added on
Jan 21, 2026
Exploit action due
Feb 11, 2026
Required action
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Weaknesses

psirt@cisco.com
CWE-94

Social media

Hype score
Not currently trending

Configurations