CVE-2026-76460: Cisco ISE authentication bypass is actively exploited

Quick Answer

CISA added CVE-2026-76460 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-09-16, confirming that exploitation has occurred. If you operate Cisco Identity Services Engine, identify the exact version and relevant configuration now, preserve security evidence, and follow the live vendor remediation. A KEV match does not prove your system was compromised, and installing an update does not rule out earlier exploitation.

Last verified: 2026-09-17 UTC. CISA KEV snapshot version 2026.09.16. Recheck the live advisory before changing production.

Context

Status At A Glance

Product scope	Cisco — Identity Services Engine
CVE	CVE-2026-76460
TechGeeks response tier	P0 — confirm an exact match and act now
CISA KEV added	2026-09-16
Vendor severity	Critical
CVSS	CVSS 3.1 base 10.0 — CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Ransomware field	Unknown — this is not the same as No; CISA has not marked the field Known.
Forensic-triage field	Yes — CISA's record calls for forensic triage.
CWE	CWE-648
Federal remediation date	2026-09-19 — applies to covered federal agencies; other organizations should set a risk-based deadline.

What Happened

Cisco Identity Services Engine Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs Vulnerability. Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) contain an incorrect use of privileged APIs vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain unauthorized access to the affected device by bypassing the web-based management interface. CISA's KEV listing confirms exploitation evidence, but it does not state how widespread the activity is or prove that any particular installation was compromised.

Affected Scope

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) contain an incorrect use of privileged APIs vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain unauthorized access to the affected device by bypassing the web-based management interface.

Match the exact edition, hardware or virtual platform, release, patch level, enabled feature, and management exposure. A product-family name alone is not enough to establish applicability.

Steps

What To Do Now

1. Confirm. Inventory every Identity Services Engine asset and record its exact version, patch level, role, relevant configuration, and exposure.
2. Preserve. Save UTC timestamps, off-device authentication, firewall, proxy, DNS, endpoint, application, and SIEM evidence before logs rotate or a disruptive change removes context.
3. Contain. Restrict unnecessary internet and management-plane access using supported controls. Follow the live advisory: Open the live Cisco advisory.
4. Remediate. Restrict ISE management and control-plane access, preserve off-device evidence, review every deployment node, and upgrade to the fixed patch for the installed train. If malicious activity is suspected, follow Cisco TAC guidance and re-image affected nodes rather than treating patching as eradication.
5. Validate. Verify the resulting version or patch level, service health, logging, expected access, an expected denial, and representative dependent workflows.
6. Escalate. If exposure overlapped the vulnerable period or evidence is suspicious, treat the system as a potential incident and follow vendor and incident-response recovery guidance.

Fixed Releases And Mitigation

Investigation And Recovery

Review ise-kong/access.log and support-bundle API gateway logs on every node, and cross-check network and firewall logs outside ISE. Cisco warns root access may let an actor remove or hide evidence and strongly recommends re-imaging when malicious activity is suspected. CISA marks forensic triage Yes.

When an attacker may have gained administrative, root, SYSTEM, identity, management-plane, or code-execution access, patching alone is not an eradication claim. Preserve evidence, scope affected accounts and downstream systems, rotate exposed credentials or certificates when justified, and rebuild from a trusted source when vendor or incident-response guidance requires it.

Notes

Exploitation Evidence

Vendor statement: Cisco PSIRT is aware of active exploitation of this vulnerability.

CISA statement: CVE-2026-76460 was added to KEV on 2026-09-16. The ransomware field is Unknown, and the forensic-triage field is Yes. These are separate signals.

Validation And Boundaries

This notice does not prove that every product carrying the family name is affected, that exploitation is widespread, that a clean indicator search rules out compromise, or that a successful update restored trust. TechGeeks has not reproduced the exploit and does not replace the vendor advisory, asset inventory, vulnerability scanner, or incident-response process.

Related TechGeeks Resources

• TechGeeks Security Notice Center
• All Security Notices
• What to Do When a Device Hits CISA KEV
• Router CVE Exposure, Version, and Mitigation Checklist
• IoT Firmware Update and End-of-Support Checklist
• Live Protect and Runtime Vulnerability Shielding

References

• Cisco advisory or support notice
• CISA guidance
• CISA guidance
• NVD CVE record
• CISA source

Wrap-Up

Record whether CVE-2026-76460 applies to your environment. If it does, assign an owner, preserve the change and investigation evidence, complete the vendor action, and document the validated result.

Correction policy: If a primary source changes affected versions, remediation, exploitation status, or recovery guidance, TechGeeks will update this page and its verification date.