Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN unauthorized peering and SSH access campaign
Campaign
Summary
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An active campaign used unauthorized peering connections and SSH access to maintain footholds inside a service provider's Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN environment, increasing the risk of stealthy control-plane access. Activity was observed from late 2025 into March 2026, suggesting a persistent operation rather than a one-off event. The operator used that access to change default account passwords and evade detection. The campaign matters because SD-WAN control planes can provide wide-scale access to internal enterprise traffic.
Related Happenings
Cisco security patch release for CVE-2026-20245
Security Patch Release
H score38
First: 25.06.2026 00:29
Last: 25.06.2026 00:29
Sources 1
How related:
The tech giant started releasing Catalyst SD-WAN Manager updates with the CVE-2026-20245 fix on June 10.
About this happening:
Cisco released security updates for Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN after CVE-2026-20245 was linked to root-level command execution, and customers were told to move to fixed sof...
Cisco security patch release for CVE-2026-20245
Security Patch ReleaseHow related: The tech giant started releasing Catalyst SD-WAN Manager updates with the CVE-2026-20245 fix on June 10.
About this happening: Cisco released security updates for Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN after CVE-2026-20245 was linked to root-level command execution, and customers were told to move to fixed sof...
CISA adds CVE-2026-20262 to KEV and orders federal fixes
Public Sector Action
H score32
First: 16.06.2026 09:05
Last: 16.06.2026 09:05
Sources 1
About this happening:
CISA added CVE-2026-20262 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog and required Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to apply Cisco's fixe...
CISA adds CVE-2026-20262 to KEV and orders federal fixes
Public Sector ActionAbout this happening: CISA added CVE-2026-20262 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog and required Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to apply Cisco's fixe...
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager actively exploited file upload overwrite flaw (CVE-2026-20262)
Vulnerability
H score24
First: 15.06.2026 20:12
Last: 15.06.2026 20:12
Sources 1
About this happening:
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager was patched for CVE-2026-20262 after attackers used it to create or overwrite files and escalate to root across all deployment type...
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager actively exploited file upload overwrite flaw (CVE-2026-20262)
VulnerabilityAbout this happening: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager was patched for CVE-2026-20262 after attackers used it to create or overwrite files and escalate to root across all deployment type...
Cisco security patch release for CVE-2026-20262
Security Patch Release
H score47
First: 15.06.2026 20:12
Last: 15.06.2026 20:12
Sources 1
About this happening:
Cisco released security updates for CVE-2026-20262 in Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, covering multiple release trains after the zero-day was exploited to reach root pr...
Cisco security patch release for CVE-2026-20262
Security Patch ReleaseAbout this happening: Cisco released security updates for CVE-2026-20262 in Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, covering multiple release trains after the zero-day was exploited to reach root pr...
Velvet Ant Linux login-layer persistence campaign
Campaign
H score41
First: 12.06.2026 21:17
Last: 12.06.2026 21:17
Sources 1
About this happening:
A Velvet Ant campaign was uncovered that quietly maintained access by backdooring Linux PAM and OpenSSH components, putting credential capture and command logging inside t...
Velvet Ant Linux login-layer persistence campaign
CampaignAbout this happening: A Velvet Ant campaign was uncovered that quietly maintained access by backdooring Linux PAM and OpenSSH components, putting credential capture and command logging inside t...
Timeline
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25.06.2026 17:15 2 articles · 20d ago
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN unauthorized peering and SSH access campaign
Initial DisclosureFrom late 2025 to January 2026, repeated unauthorized peering connections were observed against a service provider's SD-WAN Manager devices. The activity later reappeared in March 2026, indicating continued access attempts.
Show sources
- Cisco Vulnerability Exploited Months Before Disclosure, Google Warns — www.infosecurity-magazine.com — 25.06.2026 17:15
- Cisco Vulnerability Exploited Months Before Disclosure, Google Warns — www.infosecurity-magazine.com — 25.06.2026 17:15