Product:
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center
Summary
A vulnerability in the sftunnel functionality of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with administrative privileges to write arbitrary files as root on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of the directory path during file synchronization. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to create or replace any file on the underlying operating system.
Details
| Severity | Base Score | CVE |
|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | 5.9 | CVE-2026-20018 |
Exploitation
An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by crafting a directory path that is outside of the expected file location. By doing so, they can bypass the validation checks and write arbitrary files to the system, potentially compromising the integrity of the operating system.
Affected Products
- Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center: Vulnerable due to insufficient validation of directory paths during file synchronization.
- Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense: Also affected by the same vulnerability allowing file manipulation.
Mitigation
To mitigate this vulnerability, it is recommended to apply the latest security patches provided by Cisco. Additionally, administrators should review their configurations and restrict access to the sftunnel functionality to trusted users only.