Cisco ISE XML Parsing Flaw (Admin Auth)
CVE-2026-20029 Published on January 7, 2026

Cisco Identity Services Engine XML External Entity Processing Information Disclosure Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the licensing features of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with administrative privileges to gain access to sensitive information.  This vulnerability is due to improper parsing of XML that is processed by the web-based management interface of Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE-PIC. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a malicious file to the application. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to read arbitrary files from the underlying operating system that could include sensitive data that should otherwise be inaccessible even to administrators. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials.

NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-20029 can be exploited with network access, and requires user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a high impact on confidentiality, with no impact on integrity and availability.

Attack Vector:
NETWORK
Attack Complexity:
LOW
Privileges Required:
HIGH
User Interaction:
NONE
Scope:
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
HIGH
Integrity Impact:
NONE
Availability Impact:
NONE

Weakness Type

What is a XXE Vulnerability?

The software processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.

CVE-2026-20029 has been classified to as a XXE vulnerability or weakness.


Products Associated with CVE-2026-20029

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Cisco Identity Services Engine Software
 

Affected Versions

Cisco Identity Services Engine Software:

Exploit Probability

EPSS
0.04%
Percentile
13.37%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.