CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-3538 — Cisco Data Center Network Manager security vulnerability

High CVSS 8.1

A vulnerability in a certain REST API endpoint of Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform a path traversal attack on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient path restriction enforcement. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to overwrite or list arbitrary files on the affected device.Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

Severity
High
CVSS
8.1 (3.1)
Published
2024-11-18
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-20, CWE-22

Affected products

  • cisco / data_center_network_manager

Matched remediation archetype

Path traversal, unsafe upload, and file handling

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted filenames, archive entries, URLs, and path segments into read, write, include, extraction, and upload operations.
  • Identify filesystem roots, mount permissions, symbolic-link behavior, archive handling, and whether uploaded content is web-accessible or executable.
  • Review canonicalization and containment checks across supported operating systems and storage backends.

Remediate safely

  • Generate server-side storage identifiers and resolve paths beneath a fixed root using filesystem-aware containment checks.
  • Reject absolute, parent-relative, alternate-separator, device, link, and archive entries that escape the intended root.
  • Store uploads outside executable or served paths, validate type and size, and use private atomic temporary files.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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