CVE-2026-18577Incomplete patch leads to administrative account takeover
Known exploited — N-able N-central Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel Vulnerability
CISA confirmed this vulnerability is used in real attacks on 03.08.2026. Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: 06.08.2026.
Required action: 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
Description
An incomplete patch for CVE-2026-18556 allows for authentication bypass and account takeover in N-central Versions through 2026.3.1
Data: CVE.org, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS, Ubuntu. Published as the sources state it, in English.
Affected products and versions
References and patches
- https://documentation.n-able.com/N-central/Release_Notes/GA/Content/N-central_2026.3_HF1_Release_Notes.htm PatchRelease 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-2026-18556 VDB Entry
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-18577 US Government Resource
- https://www.n-able.com/blog/n-central-security-update-august-2-2026 Vendor Advisory
CPE matches (NVD) (2)
cpe:2.3:a:n-able:n-central:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*< 2026.3cpe:2.3:a:n-able:n-central:2026.3:-:*:*:*:*:*:*