CVE-2026-18577
N-able N-central Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel Vulnerability
Does this matter?
Known to be exploited in the wild (CISA KEV, CISA remediation deadline 6 August 2026). Treat as an emergency change: patch or isolate now, then hunt for prior compromise.
Description
An incomplete patch for CVE-2026-18556 allows for authentication bypass and account takeover in N-central Versions through 2026.3.1
- CVSS 4.0
- 8.2 HIGHCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L/E:A/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/M
- EPSS
- 14.62% probability · 97th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Listed 3 August 2026 · due 6 August 2026
- Weakness
- CWE-288
- Affected
- n-able/n-central
- Source
- a5532a13-c4dd-4202-bef1-e0b8f2f8d12b
EPSS moved from 14.6% on 24 September 2026 to 14.6% on 26 October 2026. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”.
CISA notes
Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines. https://documentation.n-able.com/N-central/Release_Notes/GA/Content/N-central_2026.3_HF1_Release_Notes.htm ; https://status.n-able.com/2026/08/02/n-central-2026-3-hotfix-1-mitigation-for-cve-2026-18577/ ; BOD 26-04: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk ; Forensics Triage Requirements: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-implementation-guidance-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-18577
References
- https://documentation.n-able.com/N-central/Release_Notes/GA/Content/N-central_2026.3_HF1_Release_Notes.htmPatch, Release Notes
- https://status.n-able.com/2026/08/02/n-central-2026-3-hotfix-1-mitigation-for-cve-2026-18577/Release Notes
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-18556VDB Entry
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-18577US Government Resource
- https://www.n-able.com/blog/n-central-security-update-august-2-2026Vendor Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.