CVE-2026-20174: cisco cisco nexus dashboard Path Traversal

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-20174 is a medium (CVSS 4.9) Path Traversal vulnerability in cisco cisco nexus dashboard. EPSS estimates a 0.49% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 40.7% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 01-04-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 01-04-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

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.

• CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.