OTPulse

Cisco Identity Services Engine Multiple Path Traversal Vulnerabilities

MonitorCVSS 5.3cisco-sa-ise-multi-traversal-WDTgYCdnSep 16, 2026
Cisco
IT in OT - Cisco networking products are commonly deployed in OT environments
Attack path
Attack VectorNetwork
Auth RequiredNone
ComplexityLow
User InteractionNone needed
Summary

Multiple path traversal vulnerabilities exist in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) versions 3.1.0 through 3.5.0 and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC). A remote attacker can conduct path traversal attacks on affected devices by sending specially crafted requests without requiring authentication, potentially allowing unauthorized file access or modification.

What this means
What could happen
A remote attacker could exploit path traversal vulnerabilities in Cisco ISE to read or write unauthorized files on the affected system, potentially exposing sensitive configuration data or gaining a foothold for further attacks on your identity and access control infrastructure.
Who's at risk
Identity and access control administrators using Cisco ISE. This affects organizations relying on ISE for network authentication, authorization, and 802.1X enforcement on switches and wireless infrastructure. Compromise of ISE could expose credentials or allow attackers to modify access policies affecting all networked devices.
How it could be exploited
An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests with path traversal sequences (e.g., "../") to the ISE web interface without needing credentials. The vulnerability allows the attacker to access files outside the intended directory, such as configuration files containing authentication secrets or system credentials.
Prerequisites
  • Network access to the ISE web interface (typically port 443)
  • No authentication required
remotely exploitableno authentication requiredlow complexity
Exploitability
Some exploitation risk — EPSS score 1.3%
Affected products (1)
ProductAffected VersionsFix Status
Cisco Identity Services Engine3.1.0 through 3.5.0Fix available
Remediation & Mitigation
0/3
Do now
0/1
WORKAROUNDRestrict network access to the ISE web interface to trusted administrative networks only
Schedule — requires maintenance window
0/1

Patching may require device reboot — plan for process interruption

HOTFIXUpgrade Cisco ISE to version 3.5.1 or later
Long-term hardening
0/1
HARDENINGImplement network segmentation to isolate ISE from untrusted networks
View full vendor advisory
API: /api/v1/advisories/cfb4c5ea-0f88-4d76-9ea2-3c1c86d272f2

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