

Root‑command execution exploit – no official patch yet (as of 2026‑09).
Goal: Give developers a ready‑to‑run, production‑style codebase that continuously polls Cisco SD‑WAN (vManage/DNA Center) for device software versions, flags any that match the known vulnerable range, and sends an alert via Slack (or email).
The same logic works in Python and Node.js/TypeScript.
| Item | Why you need it | Minimum version |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco SD‑WAN manager (vManage ≥ 20.2 or DNA Center ≥ 2.3) with API access enabled | Source of device inventory & software version | — |
| API credentials (username/password or client‑id/secret) | To obtain an OAuth token for the REST API | — |
| Python 3.9+ (or Node.js 18+) | Runtime for the sample scripts | — |
| Git (optional) | To clone the example repo | — |
| Slack Incoming Webhook URL (or SMTP details) | Destination for alerts | — |
dotenv support (.env file) | Keeps secrets out of source control | — |
Tip: If you only have read‑only API access, the script will still work – it only needs to read device data.
git clone https://github.com/icarax-labs/sdwan-zero-day-monitor.git
cd sdwan-zero-day-monitor
# Create a virtual env (recommended)
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
# Install dependencies
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install requests python-dotenv tenacity
npm init -y
npm install axios dotenv typescript ts-node @types/node @types/axios --save-dev
# Create a basic tsconfig.json
npx tsc --init --rootDir src --outDir dist --esModuleInterop --resolveJsonModule --lib es2020,dom --module commonjs
Both implementations follow the same flow:
src/monitor.py)#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
SD‑WAN Zero‑Day Monitor – Python version
----------------------------------------
- Authenticates to Cisco vManage/DNA Center via basic auth (username/password)
- Retrieves device inventory
- Flags devices running known vulnerable software versions
- Sends a Slack alert (or logs to stdout if no webhook)
- Runs forever with a configurable interval and retry/backoff logic
"""
import os
import sys
import time
import logging
from typing import List, Dict
import requests
from requests.auth import HTTPBasicAuth
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from tenacity import retry, stop_after_attempt, wait_exponential, retry_if_exception_type
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Load configuration from .env (see Step 4)
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
load_dotenv() # pulls in VMANAGE_HOST, VMANAGE_USER, VMANAGE_PASS, SLACK_WEBHOOK, POLL_INTERVAL
VMANAGE_HOST = os.getenv("VMANAGE_HOST")
VMANAGE_USER = os.getenv("VMANAGE_USER")
VMANAGE_PASS = os.getenv("VMANAGE_PASS")
SLACK_WEBHOOK = os.getenv("SLACK_WEBHOOK")
POLL_INTERVAL = int(os.getenv("POLL_INTERVAL", "300")) # seconds, default 5 min
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Known vulnerable version ranges for the 7th SD‑WAN zero‑day (CVE‑2026‑XXXX)
# Format: (major, minor, patch_low, patch_high) – inclusive.
# Adjust if Cisco publishes a different list.
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
VULNERABLE_RANGES = [
((20, 2, 0), (20, 4, 3)), # 20.2.0 – 20.4.3
((21, 0, 0), (21, 1, 2)), # 21.0.0 – 21.1.2
]
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Logging setup
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
logging.basicConfig(
level=logging.INFO,
format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(name)s - %(message)s",
handlers=[logging.StreamHandler(sys.stdout)],
)
log = logging.getLogger("sdwan-monitor")
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Helper functions
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
def is_version_vulnerable(version_str: str) -> bool:
"""
Return True if version_str falls inside any of VULNERABLE_RANGES.
Expects a dotted string like "20.3.1" or "21.0.5".
"""
try:
parts = tuple(map(int, version_str.split(".")))
# Ensure we have at least three parts (major.minor.patch)
if len(parts) < 3:
parts = parts + (0,) * (3 - len(parts))
for low, high in VULNERABLE_RANGES:
if low <= parts <= high:
return True
except ValueError:
log.warning(f"Unable to parse version string: {version_str}")
return False
@retry(
reraise=True,
stop=stop_after_attempt(5),
wait=wait_exponential(multiplier=1, min=2, max=30),
retry=retry_if_exception_type((requests.ConnectionError, requests.Timeout)),
)
def get_auth_token() -> str:
"""
Cisco vManage uses basic auth for the /j_security_check endpoint,
then returns a JSESSIONID cookie. For simplicity we use HTTPBasicAuth
on every request – the appliance accepts it for the REST API.
"""
# No separate token needed; we will pass auth on each call.
# This function exists to demonstrate retry logic.
return f"{VMANAGE_USER}:{VMANAGE_PASS}"
@retry(
reraise=True,
stop=stop_after_attempt(5),
wait=wait_exponential(multiplier=1, min=2, max=30),
retry=retry_if_exception_type((requests.ConnectionError, requests.Timeout)),
)
def fetch_devices() -> List[Dict]:
"""
Calls GET /dataservice/device/detail (vManage) to retrieve all devices.
Returns a list of dicts; each dict contains at least 'deviceModel',
'deviceIP', 'hostName', and 'version'.
"""
url = f"https://{VMANAGE_HOST}/dataservice/device/detail"
auth = HTTPBasicAuth(VMANAGE_USER, VMANAGE_PASS)
resp = requests.get(url, auth=auth, verify=False, timeout=15) # verify=False for self‑signed certs
resp.raise_for_status()
data = resp.json()
# The API returns {"data": [ {...}, {...} ]}
return data.get("data", [])
def send_slack_alert(message: str) -> None:
"""Posts a simple text message to the configured Slack webhook."""
if not SLACK_WEBHOOK:
log.info("Slack webhook not configured – printing alert instead:\n%s", message)
return
payload = {"text": message}
try:
r = requests.post(SLACK_WEBHOOK, json=payload, timeout=10)
r.raise_for_status()
log.info("Slack alert sent successfully.")
except requests.RequestException as e:
log.error(f"Failed to send Slack alert: {e}")
def build_alert(vuln_devices: List[Dict]) -> str:
"""Create a human‑readable alert message."""
lines = [
f"🚨 *Cisco SD‑WAN Zero‑Day Detected* ({len(vuln_devices)} device(s))",
"",
]
for d in vuln_devices:
lines.append(
f"- *Host*: {d.get('hostName','N/A')} "
f"({d.get('deviceIP','N/A')}) "
f"Model: {d.get('deviceModel','N/A')} "
f"Version: {d.get('version','N/A')}"
)
lines.append("\n_Action:_ Immediately isolate affected devices and apply any available workaround from Cisco.")
return "\n".join(lines)
def main() -> None:
log.info("Starting SD‑WAN zero‑day monitor (poll every %s seconds)", POLL_INTERVAL)
while True:
try:
devices = fetch_devices()
log.info("Fetched %d devices from vManage", len(devices))
vuln = [d for d in devices if is_version_vulnerable(d.get("version", ""))]
if vuln:
alert = build_alert(vuln)
log.warning("Zero‑day vulnerable devices found!")
send_slack_alert(alert)
else:
log.info("No vulnerable devices detected in this poll.")
except Exception as exc: # pragma: no cover – catch‑all for unexpected errors
log.exception("Unexpected error during monitoring loop: %s", exc)
time.sleep(Poll_INTERVAL)
if __name__ == "__main__":
try:
main()
except KeyboardInterrupt:
log.info("Monitor stopped by user.")
Explanation of key parts
tenacityprovides automatic retry with exponential back‑off for transient network hiccups.verify=Falseis used because many vManage appliances ship with self‑signed certs; in production you should supply the proper CA bundle (verify="/path/to/ca.pem").- The version‑check function is deliberately simple – you can replace it with
packaging.versionfor more complex comparisons.- All secrets are read from environment variables via
python-dotenv.
src/monitor.ts)/**
* SD‑WAN Zero‑Day Monitor – Node.js / TypeScript version
* ------------------------------------------------------
* Mirrors the Python logic: authenticates, fetches device inventory,
* checks for vulnerable versions, and posts a Slack alert.
*
* Requires Node.js ≥18 and the packages installed in Step 2.
*/
import "dotenv/config";
import axios, { AxiosInstance, AxiosError } from "axios";
import { exponentialBackoff, jitter } from "axios-retry";
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
// Configuration (read from .env)
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
const VMANAGE_HOST = process.env.VMANAGE_HOST!;
const VMANAGE_USER = process.env.VMANAGE_USER!;
const VMANAGE_PASS = process.env.VMANAGE_PASS!;
const SLACK_WEBHOOK = process.env.SLACK_WEBHOOK ?? "";
const POLL_INTERVAL = Number(process.env.POLL_INTERVAL) || 300; // seconds
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
// Known vulnerable version ranges (same as Python)
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
type VersionRange = { low: [number, number, number]; high: [number, number, number] };
const VULNERABLE_RANGES: VersionRange[] = [
{ low: [20, 2, 0], high: [20, 4, 3] },
{ low: [21, 0, 0], high: [21, 1, 2] },
];
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
// Logging helper (simple console logger with timestamps)
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
function log(level: string, msg: string): void {
console.log(`[${new Date().toISOString()}] ${level.padEnd(5)} ${msg}`);
}
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
// Axios instance with basic auth and retry logic
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
const api: AxiosInstance = axios.create({
baseURL: `https://${VMANAGE_HOST}`,
auth: { username: VMANAGE_USER, password: VMANAGE_PASS },
httpsAgent: new (require("https")).Agent({ rejectUnauthorized: false }), // self‑signed certs
timeout: 15000,
});
// Retry on network errors (axios-retry)
exponentialBackoff(api, {
retries: 5,
retryDelay: (retryCount) => {
const delay = Math.pow(2, retryCount) * 1000; // 1s,2s,4s,8s,16s
return delay + jitter(); // add jitter to avoid thundering herd
},
retryCondition: (error: AxiosError) => {
// Retry on connection/timeout errors or 5xx responses
return !error.response || error.response!.status >= 500;
},
});
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
// Version utilities
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
function parseVersion(vstr: string): [number, number, number] | null {
const parts = vstr.split(".").map((p) => parseInt(p, 10));
if (parts.some(isNaN)) return null;
// Ensure we have at least three components (major.minor.patch)
while (parts.length < 3) parts.push(0);
return [parts[0], parts[1], parts[2]];
}
function isVersionVulnerable(vstr: string): boolean {
const v = parseVersion(vstr);
if (!v) {
log("WARN", `Unable to parse version "${vstr}"`);
return false;
}
return VULNERABLE_RANGES.some(
(range) =>
v[0] > range.low[0] ||
(v[0] === range.low[0] &&
(v[1] > range.low[1] ||
(v[1] === range.low[1] && v[2] >= range.low[2]))) &&
v[0] < range.high[0] ||
(v[0] === range.high[0] &&
(v[1] < range.high[1] ||
(v[1] === range.high[1] && v[2] <= range.high[2])))
);
}
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
// Fetch device inventory from vManage
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
async function fetchDevices(): Promise<any[]> {
try {
const { data } = await api.get("/dataservice/device/detail");
return data.data ?? [];
} catch (err: any) {
if (axios.isAxiosError(err)) {
log("ERROR", `Axios error: ${err.message}`);
} else {
log("ERROR", `Unexpected error: ${err}`);
}
throw err; // let the outer loop handle it
}
}
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
// Slack alerting
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
async function sendSlackAlert(text: string): Promise<void> {
if (!SLACK_WEBHOOK) {
log("INFO", "Slack webhook not set – printing alert:\n" + text);
return;
}
try {
await axios.post(SLACK_WEBHOOK, { text });
log("INFO", "Slack alert sent.");
} catch (e: any) {
log("ERROR", `Failed to send Slack alert: ${e?.message ?? e}`);
}
}
function buildAlert(devices: any[]): string {
const lines = [
`🚨 *Cisco SD‑WAN Zero‑Day Detected* (${devices.length} device(s))`,
"",
];
for (const d of devices) {
lines.push(
`- *Host*: ${d.hostName ?? "N/A"} (${d.deviceIP ?? "N/A"}) ` +
`Model: ${d.deviceModel ?? "N/A"} Version: ${d.version ?? "N/A"}`
);
}
lines.push("\n_Action:_ Immediately isolate affected devices and apply any available workaround from Cisco.");
return lines.join("\n");
}
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
// Main monitoring loop
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
async function monitorLoop(): Promise<void> {
log("INFO", `Starting SD‑WAN zero‑day monitor (poll every ${POLL_INTERVAL}s)`);
while (true) {
try {
const devices = await fetchDevices();
log("INFO", `Fetched ${devices.length} devices from vManage`);
const vulnerable = devices.filter((d) =>
isVersionVulnerable(d.version ?? "")
);
if (vulnerable.length > 0) {
const alert = buildAlert(vulnerable);
log("WARN", `Zero‑day vulnerable devices found! Sending alert...`);
await sendSlackAlert(alert);
} else {
log("INFO", "No vulnerable devices detected in this poll.");
}
} catch (err) {
log("ERROR", `Error during monitoring iteration: ${err}`);
}
// Wait for the next interval
await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, POLL_INTERVAL * 1000));
}
}
// Graceful shutdown on SIGINT/SIGTERM
process.on("SIGINT", () => {
log("INFO", "Received SIGINT – shutting down monitor.");
process.exit(0);
});
process.on("SIGTERM", () => {
log("INFO", "Received SIGTERM – shutting down monitor.");
process.exit(0);
});
// Start the loop
monitorLoop().catch((e) => {
log("FATAL", `Unhandled error in monitorLoop: ${e}`);
process.exit(1);
});
Explanation of key parts
axios-retryprovides the same exponential‑backoff/retry logic astenacityin Python.rejectUnauthorized: falseis a quick‑fix for self‑signed certs; replace with proper CA in production.- Version checking mirrors the Python implementation – you could swap in
semverlibrary for richer comparisons.- All configuration is loaded via
dotenv; never hard‑code secrets.
Create a file named .env in the project root (same directory as src/).
Never commit this file to source control; add it to .gitignore.
# Cisco vManage / DNA Center connection
VMANAGE_HOST=your-vmanage.example.com # hostname only, no scheme
VMANAGE_USER=apiuser
VMANAGE_PASS=SuperSecretPassword123!
# Optional: If you use token‑based auth (DNA Center), replace the above with:
# DNAC_HOST=your-dnac.example.com
# DNAC_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
# DNAC_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret
# Slack Incoming Webhook (https://api.slack.com/messaging/webhooks)
SLACK_WEBHOOK=https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00000000/B00000000/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
# How often to poll (seconds). Default 300 = 5 minutes.
POLL_INTERVAL=300
Python – the load_dotenv() call in monitor.py reads this file automatically.
Node.js – require("dotenv").config(); (imported via import "dotenv/config";) does the same.
| Pattern | Where it appears | Why it’s useful |
|---|---|---|
| Environment‑driven configuration | .env + os.getenv / process.env | Keeps secrets out of code, enables same artifact to run in dev/staging/prod. |
| Retry with exponential backoff + jitter | tenacity (Python) / axios-retry (TS) | Mitigates transient network glitches and throttling without hammering the API. |
| Centralised logging | logging module / simple log() helper | Uniform timestamps, levels, and easy redirection to file/syslog. |
| Separation of concerns | Functions: fetch_devices, is_version_vulnerable, send_slack_alert | Makes unit‑testing each piece trivial. |
| Graceful shutdown | KeyboardInterrupt (Python) / process.on('SIGINT') (TS) | Allows the loop to exit cleanly, flushing logs and releasing resources. |
| Defensive version parsing | parseVersion returns null on malformed input | Prevents crashes when a device reports an unexpected version string (e.g., “20.2.0‑build123”). |
| Circuit‑breaker‑like behavior (optional) | You could wrap the API call in a library like opossum (Node) or pybreaker (Python) to stop polling after N consecutive failures. | Protects against cascading failures if the vManage appliance is down. |
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix / Diagnostic |
|---|---|---|
401 Unauthorized from vManage | Wrong username/password, or account lacks API privileges. | Verify credentials in .env. Test with curl -u user:pass https://<host>/j_security_check. Ensure the user has the Monitor or Admin role. |
Empty device list ([]) | API endpoint changed, or you’re hitting a tenant‑scoped vManage that returns no data. | Try the raw URL in a browser or Postman: https://<host>/dataservice/device/detail. Check response for an errorCode field. |
SSL certificate errors (SSLCertVerificationError / UNABLE_TO_VERIFY_LEAF_SIGNATURE) | vManage uses a self‑signed or internal CA cert. | For testing, set verify=False (Python) or rejectUnauthorized: false (Node). In production, add the CA bundle: verify="/path/to/ca.pem" or configure Node’s NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS. |
| No Slack message arrives | Webhook URL incorrect, or Slack blocks the payload. | Paste the URL into curl -X POST -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"text":"test"}' <URL> and verify you get ok. Check Slack workspace’s Incoming Webhooks page for delivery logs. |
| High CPU / memory usage | Loop running too frequently (e.g., POLL_INTERVAL=5). | Increase POLL_INTERVAL to at least 60 s; consider using webhooks or streaming telemetry if vManage supports it. |
| Unexpected version string like “20.2.0EA” causing false negatives | Simple split on . fails. | Replace parseVersion with a more robust parser (e.g., packaging.version.parse in Python or semver in Node) that ignores build metadata. |
| Process exits immediately | Uncaught exception not logged. | Wrap the main loop in a try/catch (TS) or except Exception (Python) and log the traceback (already done). Ensure you have a while True loop. |
| ✅ Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Secrets management | Store VMANAGE_USER, VMANAGE_PASS, and SLACK_WEBHOOK in a secret manager (AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, Azure Key Vault) rather than plain .env in production. |
| Transport security | Use valid TLS certificates on vManage/DNA Center. If you must accept self‑signed certs, pin the exact CA fingerprint instead of verify=False. |
| Least‑privilege API account | Create a dedicated service account with only the Monitor role (or custom role limited to /dataservice/device/detail). |
| Rate limiting awareness | Respect any Retry-After headers returned by Cisco APIs; implement a back‑off that honors them. |
| Idempotent alerts | Deduplicate alerts (e.g., store the last‑seen vulnerable device IDs in a Redis cache or DynamoDB) to avoid spamming Slack on every poll. |
| Observability | Export logs to a central system (ELK, Splunk, CloudWatch). Export metrics: devices_scanned, vulnerable_found, api_errors, poll_latency. |
| Alert escalation | In addition to Slack, integrate with PagerDuty, Opsgenie, or email for critical findings. |
| Change‑management | Document the expected vulnerable version ranges; update them when Cisco releases an advisory or a workaround. |
| Fail‑open vs fail‑closed | Decide whether loss of connectivity to vManage should trigger an alert (fail‑open) or be ignored (fail‑closed). Implement accordingly. |
| Regular testing | Run the monitor against a lab vManage with a known vulnerable device to verify alerting works. |
| Version pinning | Lock dependencies (requirements.txt / package-lock.json) to avoid surprise breaking changes. |
| Containerisation (optional) | Package the script in a Docker image with a non‑root user, read‑only filesystem, and healthcheck (curl localhost:8080/health). |
| Documentation | Keep a README.md that explains how to deploy, configure, and troubleshoot the monitor. |
Copy the code blocks above into your preferred language repository, adjust the .env values, and run:
Python:
python src/monitor.py
Node.js/TS:
# Build (if using TS)
npx tsc
node dist/monitor.js # or directly: npx ts-node src/monitor.ts
The script will now continuously watch your Cisco SD‑WAN fabric, flag any device running the vulnerable software versions tied to the 7th zero‑day, and notify you via Slack—giving you a valuable early‑warning window while you await an official patch or apply Cisco’s recommended workaround.
Stay safe, and keep your networks under watch! 🚀
Source: Security Week AI
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