CVE-2020-3208
Cisco IOS Software for Cisco 800 Series Industrial Integrated Services Routers Image Verification Bypass Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the image verification feature of Cisco IOS Software for Cisco 809 and 829 Industrial Integrated Services Routers (Industrial ISRs) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to boot a malicious software image on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient access restrictions on the area of code that manages the image verification feature. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by first authenticating to the targeted device and then logging in to the Virtual Device Server (VDS) of an affected device. The attacker could then, from the VDS shell, disable Cisco IOS Software integrity (image) verification. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious Cisco IOS Software image on the targeted device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid user credentials at privilege level 15.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
6.7
Cisco IOS Software for Cisco 800 Series Industrial Integrated Services Routers Image Verification Bypass Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the image verification feature of Cisco IOS Software for Cisco 809 and 829 Industrial Integrated Services Routers (Industrial ISRs) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to boot a malicious software image on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient access restrictions on the area of code that manages the image verification feature. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by first authenticating to the targeted device and then logging in to the Virtual Device Server (VDS) of an affected device. The attacker could then, from the VDS shell, disable Cisco IOS Software integrity (image) verification. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious Cisco IOS Software image on the targeted device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid user credentials at privilege level 15.
- Record
CVE-2020-3208- CVSS 3.0
- 6.7 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-264
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-24479
6.7
A vulnerability in the image verification feature of Cisco IOS Software for Cisco 809 and 829 Industrial Integrated Services Routers (Industrial ISRs) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to boot a malicious software image on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient access restrictions on the area of code that manages the image verification feature. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by first authenticating to the targeted device and then logging in to the Virtual Device Server (VDS) of an affected device. The attacker could then, from the VDS shell, disable Cisco IOS Software integrity (image) verification. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious Cisco IOS Software image on the targeted device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid user credentials at privilege level 15.
- Record
EUVD-2020-24479- CVSS 3.0
- 6.7 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-xcmg-f9fr-wgj3
6.7
A vulnerability in the image verification feature of Cisco IOS Software for Cisco 809 and 829...
A vulnerability in the image verification feature of Cisco IOS Software for Cisco 809 and 829 Industrial Integrated Services Routers (Industrial ISRs) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to boot a malicious software image on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient access restrictions on the area of code that manages the image verification feature. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by first authenticating to the targeted device and then logging in to the Virtual Device Server (VDS) of an affected device. The attacker could then, from the VDS shell, disable Cisco IOS Software integrity (image) verification. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious Cisco IOS Software image on the targeted device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid user credentials at privilege level 15.
- Record
GHSA-xcmg-f9fr-wgj3- CVSS 3.1
- 6.7 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
6.7
A vulnerability in the image verification feature of Cisco IOS Software for Cisco 809 and 829 Industrial Integrated Services Routers (Industrial ISRs) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to boot a malicious software image on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient access restrictions on the area of code that manages the image verification feature. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by first authenticating to the targeted device and then logging in to the Virtual Device Server (VDS) of an affected device. The attacker could then, from the VDS shell, disable Cisco IOS Software integrity (image) verification. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious Cisco IOS Software image on the targeted device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid user credentials at privilege level 15.
- Record
CVE-2020-3208- CVSS 3.1
- 6.7 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.0
- 6.7 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.2 High
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-264
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| 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-2020-3208 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.7) in Cisco Ios, published June 3, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.32%, the 25th percentile. No source names a fixed version.