Cisco BroadWorks and Openwave Flaws Actively Exploited Despite Available Patches
AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency added two actively exploited vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: CVE‑2026‑111793 in Cisco BroadWorks and CVE‑2026‑20320 in Openwave Messaging Webtop Media Transcoder. Evidence shows attackers used the BroadWorks flaw to upload malicious files and harvest sensitive data, while an AI‑driven campaign, Operation Snowball, exploited the Openwave flaw to enumerate assets, steal credentials, and exfiltrate subscriber records from a European telecom provider. Both exploits involved advanced reconnaissance, autonomous tool development, and persistent web shells. The vulnerabilities were patched, yet exploitation continued, prompting urgent patching for federal agencies by November 24, 2026.
💡 Why It Matters
- · The incidents reveal that AI‑assisted attackers can autonomously orchestrate multi‑stage breaches, turning known software flaws into large‑scale data theft.
- · This underscores the need for rapid patch deployment and enhanced AI‑aware threat detection in critical infrastructure.