Detect Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Improper Output Encoding Exploitation in IBM QRadar
Detects exploitation attempts targeting CVE-2026-20245, an improper encoding or escaping of output vulnerability (CWE-116) in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager. This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) and may allow attackers to perform privilege escalation or inject malicious content through improperly encoded output. Detection focuses on anomalous authentication patterns, unexpected privilege changes, API abuse, and suspicious management plane activity against SD-WAN Manager instances.
MITRE ATT&CK
QRadar Detection Query
SELECT
DATEFORMAT(starttime, 'YYYY-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') AS event_time,
sourceip,
destinationip,
username,
LOGSOURCENAME(logsourceid) AS log_source,
category,
CATEGORYNAME(category) AS category_name,
"Message" AS event_message
FROM events
WHERE
LOGSOURCETYPENAME(devicetype) ILIKE '%cisco%'
AND (
LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%sd-wan%'
OR LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%vmanage%'
OR LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%sdwan manager%'
)
AND (
LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%privilege escal%'
OR LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%unauthorized%admin%'
OR LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%output encod%'
OR LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%escape%error%'
OR LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%injection%'
OR (LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%403%' AND LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%dataservice%')
OR (LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%401%' AND LOWER("Message") ILIKE '%dataservice%')
)
AND starttime > NOW() - 86400000
ORDER BY starttime DESC
LIMIT 500QRadar AQL query identifying Cisco SD-WAN Manager events containing indicators of CVE-2026-20245 exploitation — privilege escalation, unauthorized admin access, output encoding errors, and API authentication failures — within the last 24 hours.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Legitimate SD-WAN Manager administrative operations generating privilege-related log entries
- Network management platform polling causing repeated API authentication attempts
- SD-WAN Manager internal health-check processes generating encoding or escape-related messages
- Authorized security testing activities targeting SD-WAN infrastructure
Other platforms for CVE-2026-20245
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1SD-WAN Manager REST API Endpoint Enumeration and Auth Probe
Expected signal: Web server access logs and SD-WAN Manager audit logs should record multiple 401/403 responses to /dataservice/ endpoints from the probe source IP within a short time window
- Test 2Simulate Output Encoding Bypass via Crafted API Payload
Expected signal: SD-WAN Manager application logs should record the API request with the encoded payload; web access logs capture the POST to /dataservice/users with unexpected encoded characters in request body
- Test 3Post-Exploitation Privilege Escalation Simulation via vManage Admin API
Expected signal: SD-WAN Manager audit logs should record the group membership change attempt; if successful, an entry will appear under Administration > Audit Log showing the privilege modification with source IP and timestamp
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