Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- EPSS is 0.16% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2026
CVE-2026-20074High confidence
Cisco IOS XR Software Multi-Instance Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System Denial of Service Vulnerability
Cisco · Cisco IOS XR Software
Official source article: Cisco CISCO-SA-ISIS-DOS-KDMXPSZK ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.
7.4HighCVSS 3.1
Within 7 days
Mitigation availableHigh technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityHigh→Operational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Apply the linked authoritative mitigation while planning the permanent fix.
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Cisco Cisco IOS XR Software and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
Mitigation available01
What, why and how
A vulnerability in the Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) multi-instance routing feature of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause the IS-IS process to restart unexpectedly. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of ingress IS-IS packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IS-IS packets to an affected device after forming an adjacency. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the IS-IS process to restart unexpectedly, resulting in a temporary loss of connectivity to advertised networks and a denial of service (DoS) condition. Note: The IS-IS protocol is a routing protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be Layer 2-adjacent to the affected device and must have formed an adjacency.
What
A vulnerability in the Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) multi-instance routing feature of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause the IS-IS process to restart unexpectedly. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of ingress IS-IS packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IS-IS packets to an affected device after forming an adjacency. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the IS-IS process to restart unexpectedly, resulting in a temporary loss of connectivity to advertised networks and a denial of service (DoS) condition. Note: The IS-IS protocol is a routing protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be Layer 2-adjacent to the affected device and must have formed an adjacency.
Why
The product receives input that is expected to be of a certain type, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input is actually of the expected type.
How
An attacker operating through an adjacent network may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
What
A vulnerability in the Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) multi-instance routing feature of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause the IS-IS process to restart unexpectedly. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of ingress IS-IS packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IS-IS packets to an affected device after forming an adjacency. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the IS-IS process to restart unexpectedly, resulting in a temporary loss of connectivity to advertised networks and a denial of service (DoS) condition. Note: The IS-IS protocol is a routing protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be Layer 2-adjacent to the affected device and must have formed an adjacency.
Why
The product receives input that is expected to be of a certain type, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input is actually of the expected type.
How
An attacker operating through an adjacent network may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- an adjacent network → Improper Validation of Specified Type of Input → disrupt the affected service
- Attack surface
- Adjacent
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-1287 ↗
CWE-1287: Improper Validation of Specified Type of Input. The product receives input that is expected to be of a certain type, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input is actually of the expected type.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:HCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVAdjacentAttack vector: The attacker must be on an adjacent or logically close network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Mitigation available
- Action
- Apply the mitigation in the linked authoritative guidance while planning the vendor's permanent fix.
- Workaround
- A mitigation or workaround reference is available from the source linked below; validate it against the affected product and version.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 11 Mar 2026 · Last source change 11 Mar 2026, 17:20 UTC · CWE-1287 · Improper Validation of Specified Type of Input
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-11219
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD enriched
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.
CVE published
Mitigation reference recorded
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.