CVE-2026-20174
MediumCVSS 4.9Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk38th percentile - higher than 38% of all known CVEs
Summary
A vulnerability in the Metadata update feature of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights allows an authenticated, remote attacker to write arbitrary files to the system. The issue is due to insufficient validation of the metadata update file.
Risk Assessment
An attacker with administrative privileges can gain full root access to the underlying OS, compromising data integrity and confidentiality, and potentially leading to infrastructure takeover.
Recommendation
Apply the vendor-supplied patch immediately and restrict manual metadata file upload functionality to trusted administrators only, especially in Air-Gap environments.
Original NVD description (English source)
A vulnerability in the Metadata update feature of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to write arbitrary files to an affected system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of the metadata update file. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by crafting a metadata update file and manually uploading it to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to write arbitrary files to the underlying operating system as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials. Note: Manual uploading of metadata files is typical for Air-Gap environments but not for Cisco Intersight Cloud connected devices. However, the manual upload option exists for both deployments.