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Cisco Patches Nine Crosswork and Secure Workload Flaws, Five Scoring CVSS 10.0

CVE-2026-20353CVE-2026-20354CVE-2026-20355CVE-2026-20356CVE-2026-20357CVE-2026-20358

August 21, 2026 ยท The Hacker News ยท Severity: CRITICAL

Cisco published security updates addressing nine vulnerabilities in Crosswork platforms and Secure Workload Software, with five of them scoring the maximum CVSS 10.0 severity rating. The critical flaws include CVE-2026-20353, CVE-2026-20354, CVE-2026-20355, CVE-2026-20356, and CVE-2026-20357, all SQL injection or missing authentication vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-20358 is an external control of file name vulnerability, while other flaws include improper input validation and command injection. These vulnerabilities were discovered as part of Cisco's internal security review and affect multiple product versions. ๐Ÿ“Œ **Analyst Note:** The five CVSS 10.0 vulnerabilities in Cisco's Crosswork and Secure Workload platforms are extremely concerning due to their maximum severity. Organizations using these products should prioritize patching, as SQL injection and missing authentication flaws can lead to complete system compromise. Cisco's internal security review approach is commendable, but the volume of critical flaws suggests a need for more rigorous secure development practices.

Cisco has published another round of security updates for Crosswork platforms and Secure Workload Software as part of a continued comprehensive internal security review. Four of the security vulnerabilities affect Crosswork Data Gateway, Crosswork Network Controller, and Crosswork Planning, regardless of the device configuration. A brief description of each of the flaws is below - CVE-2026-20030 (CVSS score: 10.0) - An SQL injection vulnerability CVE-2026-20357 (CVSS score: 10.0) - A missing authentication for critical function vulnerability CVE-2026-20358 (CVSS score: 10.0) - An external control of file system vulnerability CVE-2026-20359 (CVSS score: 9.9) - An insufficiently protected credentials vulnerability The issues affect Cisco Crosswork Release version 7.2.1 and earlier, and have been addressed in version 7.2.1-SP. Cisco has also released fixes to remediate five vulnerabilities affecting Cisco Secure Workload, including Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and on-premises deployments - CVE-2026-20231 (CVSS score: 9.9) - A set of improper neutralization of special elements vulnerabilities spanning command, operating system, and argument injection CVE-2026-20315 (CVSS score: 10.0) - A set of improper access control vulnerabilities spanning authorization, authentication, privileges, and bypasses CVE-2026-20317 (CVSS score: 10.0) - A set of improper authentication vulnerabilities spanning missing authentication, authentication bypass, and reliance on untrusted inputs CVE-2026-20318 (CVSS score: 9.6) - A set of improper input validation vulnerabilities spanning input validation, path traversal, and external path control CVE-2026-20319 (CVSS score: 7.5) - A set of improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer vulnerabilities spanning buffer overflows and out-of-bounds writes The five vulnerabilities have been patched in the versions below - Cisco Secure Workload Release version 3.10 and earlier - Fixed in 3.10.9.1 Cisco Secure Workload Release version 4.0 - Fixed in 4.0.4.16 "These vulnerabilities were found during internal testing and are not known to be actively exploited," the company said, urging customers to apply the necessary updates to avoid future exposure. The development comes about two weeks after Cisco resolved 12 bugs impacting Catalyst SD-WAN and IOS XE Software following the internal security review. The review, the networking equipment major added, has "resulted in software hardening releases that address multiple internally discovered vulnerabilities." The prevalence of Cisco gear within enterprise networks makes it an attractive target for bad actors, who have repeatedly exploited dozens of flaws impacting its products to gain unauthorized access and deploy malware. Earlier this month, Cisco warned that a vulnerability impacting Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software (CVE-2026-20349, CVSS score: 8.6) has been exploited in the wild. Found this article interesting? Follow us on Google News , Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.

Key Takeaways

  • Cisco patched nine vulnerabilities in Crosswork platforms and Secure Workload Software, with five scoring CVSS 10.0.
  • The critical flaws include SQL injection, missing authentication, and command injection vulnerabilities.
  • CVE-2026-20353 through CVE-2026-20358 cover the most severe issues, all discovered through internal security review.
  • Organizations using Cisco Crosswork or Secure Workload should apply patches immediately to prevent exploitation.
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