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Findings

Vulnerability · CVE-2026-86060

MikroTik RouterOS Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command Vulnerability

Published Sep 5, 2026 · corrected/updated Sep 11, 2026 · MikroTik RouterOS · evidence confidence very high

RouterOS contains an argument-handling flaw in the SSH login path involving usernames that begin with a prohibited character, allowing for the trusted RouterOS policy mask to be changed, leading to privilege escalation. Exploitation requires an unauthenticated SSH session to reach the RouterOS login helper.This issue was fixed in versions: 6.49.21 (Long-term), 7.23.4 (Long-term) and 7.24.2 (Stable)

Grounded briefings

Catalog interpretations for three audiences. Each brief cites ingested metadata and the original advisories below. They are not independent research and they do not invent exploit steps.

Executive

CVE-2026-86060 is a critical public vulnerability record for MikroTik RouterOS. CISA lists it as known exploited. Published remediation guidance: 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. This summary is a catalog interpretation of the ingested metadata and cites the original advisories below.

System administrator

Identify whether MikroTik RouterOS is in your estate, then compare installed versions with the affected ranges. Affected packages or ranges on record: mikrotik/routeros; MikroTik RouterOS. Published remediation guidance: 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. Prefer the vendor or distribution advisory linked in Sources before changing production systems. This is a catalog interpretation, not a runbook.

Security analyst

Signals on file: CVSS 9.2, EPSS 6.4%. CISA lists it as known exploited. Weakness classes: CWE-88. Sources contributing to this record: cisa_kev, cve_org, epss, exploitdb. Public exploit references, when present, are outbound links only and are not proof of active exploitation. This is a catalog interpretation of stored metadata.

Exploitation and remediation

  • Exploitation evidence

    Confirmed in CISA KEV since Sep 5, 2026. Listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV.

  • Patch and remediation

    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. CISA due date Sep 13, 2026.

  • Safe detection guidance

    Compare installed versions with the affected ranges below and verify the advisory from the original publisher. This site stores metadata and outbound links only; it does not ship exploit code or proof-of-concept payloads.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Sep 5, 2026 · Catalog

    Detected

    RouterOS contains an argument-handling flaw in the SSH login path involving usernames that begin with a prohibited character, allowing for the trusted RouterOS policy mask to be changed, leading to privilege escalation. Exploitation requires an unauthenticated SSH session to reach the RouterOS login helper.This issue was fixed in versions: 6.49.21 (Long-term), 7.23.4 (Long-term) and 7.24.2 (Stable

  2. Sep 10, 2026 · CISA KEV

    Known exploited

    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

  3. Sep 11, 2026 · Catalog

    Updated

    RouterOS contains an argument-handling flaw in the SSH login path involving usernames that begin with a prohibited character, allowing for the trusted RouterOS policy mask to be changed, leading to privilege escalation. Exploitation requires an unauthenticated SSH session to reach the RouterOS login helper.This issue was fixed in versions: 6.49.21 (Long-term), 7.23.4 (Long-term) and 7.24.2 (Stable

  4. Sep 13, 2026 · CISA KEV

    Remediation due

    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

Affected

  • cpe mikrotik/routerosversion unspecified
  • vendor MikroTik RouterOSversion unspecified

Sources

  • CISA KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2026-86060

    MikroTik RouterOS contains an improper neutralization of argument delimiters in a command vulnerability which allows an attacker to change the trusted RouterOS policy mask, leading to privilege escalation.

    cisa.gov
  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-86060

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2026-86060

    30-day exploitation probability 6.4%

    first.org
  • Exploit DatabasePublic exploit reference52683

    Public archive entry. The exploit body is not stored here.

    exploit-db.com
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-86060

    RouterOS contains an argument-handling flaw in the SSH login path involving usernames that begin with a prohibited character, allowing for the trusted RouterOS policy mask to be changed, leading to privilege escalation. Exploitation requires an unauthenticated SSH session to reac

    nvd.nist.gov
  • VulnCheck KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2026-86060

    MikroTik RouterOS contains an improper neutralization of argument delimiters in a command vulnerability which allows an attacker to change the trusted RouterOS policy mask, leading to privilege escalation.

    vulncheck.com

References