CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-3224 — Cisco Ios Xe security vulnerability

High CVSS 9

A vulnerability in the web-based user interface (web UI) of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with read-only privileges to inject IOS commands to an affected device. The injected commands should require a higher privilege level in order to be executed. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of specific HTTP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests to a specific web UI endpoint on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject IOS commands to the affected device, which could allow the attacker to alter the configuration of the device or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition.

Severity
High
CVSS
9 (2.0)
Published
2020-06-03
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-77, CWE-78

Affected products

  • cisco / ios_xe / 16.11.1
  • cisco / ios_xe / 16.11.1a
  • cisco / ios_xe / 16.11.1b
  • cisco / ios_xe / 16.11.1c
  • cisco / ios_xe / 16.11.1s
  • cisco / ios_xe / 16.12.1y

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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