Skip to content
Noroxi
NVD / CVE Program· CNA cisco

CVE-2020-3284: Cisco IOS XR Software Enhanced Preboot eXecution Environment Unsigned Code Execution Vulnerability

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Plan (action score 40/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 2.8% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 86.7% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.

Add it to your regular patch cycle. Update when a fix is released; follow the vendor's advisory.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

A vulnerability in the enhanced Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) boot loader for Cisco IOS XR 64-bit Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute unsigned code during the PXE boot process on an affected device. The PXE boot loader is part of the BIOS and runs over the management interface of hardware platforms that are running Cisco IOS XR Software only. The vulnerability exists because internal commands that are issued when the PXE network boot process is loading a software image are not properly verified. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by compromising the PXE boot server and replacing a valid software image with a malicious one. Alternatively, the attacker could impersonate the PXE boot server and send a PXE boot reply with a malicious file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute unsigned code on the affected device. Note: To fix this vulnerability, both the Cisco IOS XR Software and the BIOS must be upgraded. The BIOS code is included in Cisco IOS XR Software but might require additional installation steps. For further information, see the Fixed Software section of this advisory.

CriticalCVSS 9.8 · v3.1—No exploit No fix recorded
Published
Nov 6, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
2.8% · 86th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

40

Plan

Add it to your regular patch cycle.

CVSS
39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 2.8%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
9.8
CNA · cisco
8.1
1.7 point gap

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • No fixed version yet

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2020-3284

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

One daily email digest (06:00 UTC); connect a webhook for KEV listings and weaponized exploits instantly.

Your free account also gets you

Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens

  • Stack alerts: add the products and versions you run, get the new CVEs that affect them
  • Uptime monitoring: 1 site, instant email when it goes down
  • Add your domain: subdomains and takeover risk scanned every week (1 domain)
  • 10 scans an hour on the security tools (3 a day without an account), an API key and MCP
  • All your scans in one panel: findings, what changed in the last scan, a report per domain or per client (PDF, share link)
All free tools

Sign up with email · Have an account? Sign in

Free account, no card. Unfollow any time.

Don't want an account? Get "Exploited this week" by email every MondayDon't want an account? RSS feed for cisco records

Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens

Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

We use this product, ask for help

Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
ciscoa9k-rsp880-se firmware
ciscoios xr
ciscoa9k-rsp880-se
ciscoa9k-rsp880-tr firmware
ciscoa9k-rsp880-tr
ciscoa99-rp2-se firmware
ciscoa99-rp2-se
ciscoa99-rp2-tr firmware
ciscoa99-rp2-tr
ciscoa99-rsp-se firmware
ciscoa99-rsp-se
ciscoa99-rsp-tr firmware

and 75 more

Affected versions

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

  • cisco a99-rp2-se firmwarebefore 14.35
  • cisco a99-rp2-tr firmwarebefore 14.35
  • cisco a99-rp3-se firmwarebefore 30.23
  • cisco a99-rp3-tr firmwarebefore 30.23
  • cisco a99-rsp-se firmwarebefore 16.14
  • cisco a99-rsp-tr firmwarebefore 16.14
  • cisco a9k-rsp5-se firmwarebefore 31.20
  • cisco a9k-rsp5-tr firmwarebefore 31.20
  • cisco a9k-rsp880-lt-se firmwarebefore 17.34
  • cisco a9k-rsp880-lt-tr firmwarebefore 17.34
  • cisco a9k-rsp880-se firmwarebefore 10.65
  • cisco a9k-rsp880-tr firmwarebefore 10.65
  • cisco asr-9901-rp firmwarebefore 22.20
  • cisco ios xrbefore 1.12
  • cisco ios xrbefore 1.21
  • cisco ios xrbefore 6.6.25
  • cisco ios xrbefore 7.2.1
  • cisco ios xr7.0.0 and later · before 7.0.2
  • cisco ios xrbefore 6.5.2
  • cisco n540-12z20g-sys-a/d firmwarebefore 1.15

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 IOS XR Software

    • n/aaffected

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

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is 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
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-284 · Improper Access Control

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

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

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