---
title: "CVE-2026-20234: Cisco Identity Services Engine - Hardcoded Credentials"
description: "Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and ISE Passive Identity Connector contain insufficiently protected credentials vulnerabilities caused by weak credential protection, letting attackers potentially access sensitive credentials, exploit requires internal access."
url: https://panop.io/threat-heartbeat/CVE-2026-20234/
---

# CVE-2026-20234 Cisco Identity Services Engine - Hardcoded Credentials

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and ISE Passive Identity Connector contain insufficiently protected credentials vulnerabilities caused by weak credential protection, letting attackers potentially access sensitive credentials, exploit requires internal access.

CVSS base score 9.9 /10

Critical

CISA KEV

Not listed

Public exploit

None known

EPSS

0.37% chance of exploitation in 30 days

[View the NVD record ↗](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20234)

## Details

Type

Hardcoded Credentials

Impact

Privilege Escalation, Information Disclosure

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Published

16 September 2026

Updated

15 October 2026

Weakness

[CWE-522](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/522.html)

## Vendor fix

Update to the latest software hardening release provided by Cisco.

Patching closes this CVE. It does not tell you which of your systems run the affected version, or what else is exposed alongside them.

## References

- [https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20234](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20234)
- [https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-hardening-ise-XU5EwX5T](https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-hardening-ise-XU5EwX5T)

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## What this record can't tell you

- Whether you run the affected software, and where
- Whether an attacker can actually reach and exploit it
- The misconfigurations that never get a CVE number
- What it would cost the business, ranked into what to fix first

Panop answers these inside your environment, for this CVE and every other finding.

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