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CVE-2020-3457· NVD / CVE Program· CNA cisco

Cisco FXOS Software Command Injection Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco FXOS Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject arbitrary commands that are executed with root privileges. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of commands supplied by the user. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to a device and submitting crafted input to the affected command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges.

MediumCVSS 6.7 · v3.1—No exploit No fix recorded

Noroxi analysis

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Published
Oct 21, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.4% · 32th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

26

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
26 / 40 · 6.7 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.4%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
6.7
CNA · cisco
6.7
agree

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Affected systems

VendorProduct
ciscofirepower 1150
ciscofirepower 2100
ciscofirepower 2110
ciscofirepower extensible operating system
ciscofirepower 4110
ciscofirepower 4112
ciscofirepower 4115
ciscofirepower 4120
ciscofirepower 4125
ciscofirepower 4140
ciscofirepower 4145
ciscofirepower 4150

and 17 more

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.8 and later · before 9.8.4.29
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.9 and later · before 9.9.2.80
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.10 and later · before 9.10.1.40
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12 and later · before 9.12.4.3
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.13 and later · before 9.13.1.13
  • cisco firepower threat defense6.2.2 and later · before 6.3.0.6
  • cisco firepower threat defense6.4.0 and later · before 6.4.0.9
  • cisco firepower threat defense6.5.0 and later · before 6.5.0.5

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (cisco). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software

    • n/aaffected

Same product

cisco: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2015-6435An unspecified CGI script in Cisco FX-OS before 1.1.2 on Firepower 9000 devices and Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) Manager before 2.2(
    42Plan
  • CVE-2020-3172Cisco FXOS and NX-OS Software Cisco Discovery Protocol Arbitrary Code Execution and Denial of Service Vulnerability
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2017-12277A vulnerability in the Smart Licensing Manager service of the Cisco Firepower 4100 Series Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) and Firepower 9300
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2020-3456Cisco FXOS Software Firepower Chassis Manager Cross-Site Request Forgery Vulnerability
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2017-3883A vulnerability in the authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) implementation of Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System (FX
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2020-3517Cisco FXOS and NX-OS Software Cisco Fabric Services Denial of Service Vulnerability
    34Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • Administrator privileges are required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-78 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

User input is inserted as text into a shell command. The shell may interpret special characters in the input as part of the command.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-78 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
const host = req.body.host;exec("ping -c 1 " + host, onResult);

Fixed

ts
const host = req.body.host;if (!/^[a-z0-9.-]{1,253}$/i.test(host)) return res.sendStatus(400);execFile("ping", ["-c", "1", host], onResult);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records