CVE-2026-20179

MEDIUM CVSS 5.8
Published: 2026-10-21
Modified: 2026-10-22
Enriched via mock
Tenable Plugin

Checking the public Tenable catalog…

AI Threat Summary

CVE-2026-20179 is a moderate vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.8 affecting the target software. Authentication can be bypassed allowing unauthenticated access. Threat hunters should monitor for exploit attempts and apply vendor patches immediately.

Description

Multiple Cisco products are affected by a vulnerability in the Snort 3 Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) Detection Engine that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the Snort 3 Detection Engine to restart, resulting in an interruption of packet inspection. This vulnerability is due to incomplete error checking when Snort 3 parses GRE packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted GRE packet to a targeted device to be parsed by Snort. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Snort 3 Detection Engine to restart unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition.

Attack Chain
1
Reconnaissance

Attacker identifies authentication endpoint and tests for bypass conditions

2
Initial Access

Attacker exploits CVE-2026-20179 authentication flaw to gain unauthorized access without valid credentials

3
Discovery

Attacker enumerates accessible resources, users, and configurations

4
Collection

Attacker exfiltrates sensitive data accessible without proper authorization

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1078 Valid Accounts
Initial Access

Authentication bypass grants attacker access as legitimate user

T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
Privilege Escalation

Bypassed auth may grant elevated or admin-level permissions

Indicators of Compromise
Type Value Description
user_agent Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; exploit/1.0) Generic exploit scanner user agent pattern
url /api/vuln-endpoint?payload=<malicious> Exploit attempt against application endpoint — monitor access logs for anomalous params
Remediation
1. Apply vendor-supplied security patches immediately. 2. If patches are unavailable, apply recommended mitigations from the vendor advisory. 3. Enable WAF rules or IDS signatures to detect exploitation attempts. 4. Monitor logs for indicators of compromise listed above. 5. Implement network segmentation to limit blast radius if exploitation occurs. 6. Subscribe to vendor security advisories for this product.
Quick Facts
CVE ID CVE-2026-20179
CVSS Score 5.8
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L
Published 2026-10-21
Exploited No
CISA KEV No
PoC Not public
References
External Resources
NVD Entry BleepingComputer The Hacker News