Actively exploited vulnerability

Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator: code execution flaw under attack

CVE-2026-16812 · Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator On-Prem OS Command Injection Vulnerability

Business software10.0 critical

What is affected

Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator is mostly run by companies, schools and public bodies, not on home computers. You are unlikely to have it yourself, but organisations that hold your data may. Breaches that start with flaws like this one are how personal data ends up leaked.

Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator On-Prem contains an OS command injection vulnerability that may allow a remote attacker to access privileged internal functionality and impact the VCO host. Successful exploitation may compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the orchestrator and data managed by the orchestrator.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a code execution flaw. It lets an attacker run their own commands or programs on the affected system. In practice that usually means taking it over: installing malware, stealing data or using it to reach other devices on the same network.

How it is reached
Over the internet or network
Access the attacker needs
No account needed
Does the victim have to do something?
No, works without the victim doing anything

What to do

  1. At home: nothing to install. Keep your own devices updated and use a different password for every service, so that a breach at one organisation does not open your other accounts.
  2. If you administer Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator at work: apply the vendor's fix or mitigation now and review logs for signs of compromise, because the flaw was being exploited before it was listed.
  3. If the product is past its support date and no fix exists, take it off the internet or retire it.

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.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

Vendor advisories and fixes

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on July 27, 2026, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by July 30, 2026, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 1.0% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 62% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 10.0 out of 10 (critical), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

VeloCloud Orchestrator (VCO) on-prem has a security issue where this issue may allow a remote attacker to access privileged internal functionality and impact the VCO host. Successful exploitation may compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the orchestrator and data managed by the orchestrator. This functionality was intended to be for internal use only and is not intended to be remotely accessible. Hosted and Dedicated versions of VCO have already been patched in advance of this notice going out. This issue was discovered externally and is known to be actively exploited.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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