Actively exploited · Published Jan 21, 2026 · Assigned by cisco
CVE-2026-20045Cisco Unified Communications Products Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
High 8.2 Exploited
In plain English
A high-severity code injection in Cisco Unified Communications Manager from Cisco. Attackers are actively exploiting it in the wild (listed by CISA on January 21, 2026). The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 4.5% (higher than 92% of all known vulnerabilities). Ready-made attack tooling exists: public proof-of-concept code. Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
CISA guidance
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Federal agencies must remediate by Feb 11, 2026.
Official 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.
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco | Cisco Unified Communications Manager | 12.5(1)SU212.5(1)SU112.5(1)12.5(1)SU312.5(1)SU41412.5(1)SU514SU1 |
| Cisco | Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service | 12.5(1)12.5(1)SU112.5(1)SU212.5(1)SU312.5(1)SU41412.5(1)SU514SU1 |
| Cisco | Cisco Unity Connection | 12.5(1)12.5(1)SU112.5(1)SU212.5(1)SU312.5(1)SU41412.5(1)SU514SU1 |
Weakness: CWE-94 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N