CVE-2026-20092

CVE-2026-20092 describes a privilege escalation vulnerability in the read-only maintenance shell of Cisco Intersight Virtual Appliance, stemming from improper file permissions on system account configuration files. An authenticated, local administrator can exploit this to gain root privileges, potentially leading to full control of the appliance, access to sensitive information, and modification of host system configurations. Rated Medium (CVSS 6.0), the attack requires high privileges and local access, but has a high impact on confidentiality and integrity. While there is no known active exploitation or public exploit code (Metasploit, Nuclei, ExploitDB), the vulnerability has garnered significant community attention with 11 mentions and media coverage.