CVE-2020-3181
Cisco Email Security Appliance Uncontrolled Resource Exhaustion Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the malware detection functionality in Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) in Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliances (ESAs) could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to exhaust resources on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient control over system memory allocation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted email through the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause an email attachment that contains malware to be delivered to a user and cause email processing delays.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
6.5
Cisco Email Security Appliance Uncontrolled Resource Exhaustion Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the malware detection functionality in Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) in Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliances (ESAs) could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to exhaust resources on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient control over system memory allocation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted email through the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause an email attachment that contains malware to be delivered to a user and cause email processing delays.
- Record
CVE-2020-3181- CVSS 3.0
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-24452
6.5
A vulnerability in the malware detection functionality in Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) in Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliances (ESAs) could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to exhaust resources on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient control over system memory allocation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted email through the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause an email attachment that contains malware to be delivered to a user and cause email processing delays.
- Record
EUVD-2020-24452- CVSS 3.0
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-76gp-2rvp-j8f4 No score
A vulnerability in the malware detection functionality in Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP)...
A vulnerability in the malware detection functionality in Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) in Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliances (ESAs) could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to exhaust resources on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient control over system memory allocation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted email through the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause an email attachment that contains malware to be delivered to a user and cause email processing delays.
- Record
GHSA-76gp-2rvp-j8f4- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
6.5
A vulnerability in the malware detection functionality in Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) in Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliances (ESAs) could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to exhaust resources on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient control over system memory allocation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted email through the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause an email attachment that contains malware to be delivered to a user and cause email processing delays.
- Record
CVE-2020-3181- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L - CVSS 3.0
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L - CVSS 2.0
- 6.4 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| facts | ||
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-3181 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.5) in Cisco Email Security Appliance, published March 4, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.56%, the 75th percentile. No source names a fixed version.