CVE-2020-3394
Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series Switches Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the Enable Secret feature of Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode could allow an authenticated, local attacker to issue the enable command and get full administrative privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have valid credentials for the affected device. The vulnerability is due to a logic error in the implementation of the enable command. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the device and issuing the enable command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain full administrative privileges without using the enable password. Note: The Enable Secret feature is disabled by default.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.8
Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series Switches Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the Enable Secret feature of Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode could allow an authenticated, local attacker to issue the enable command and get full administrative privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have valid credentials for the affected device. The vulnerability is due to a logic error in the implementation of the enable command. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the device and issuing the enable command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain full administrative privileges without using the enable password. Note: The Enable Secret feature is disabled by default.
- Record
CVE-2020-3394- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-285
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-24665
7.8
A vulnerability in the Enable Secret feature of Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode could allow an authenticated, local attacker to issue the enable command and get full administrative privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have valid credentials for the affected device. The vulnerability is due to a logic error in the implementation of the enable command. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the device and issuing the enable command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain full administrative privileges without using the enable password. Note: The Enable Secret feature is disabled by default.
- Record
EUVD-2020-24665- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-fphj-3g9v-9h48 No score
A vulnerability in the Enable Secret feature of Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus...
A vulnerability in the Enable Secret feature of Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode could allow an authenticated, local attacker to issue the enable command and get full administrative privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have valid credentials for the affected device. The vulnerability is due to a logic error in the implementation of the enable command. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the device and issuing the enable command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain full administrative privileges without using the enable password. Note: The Enable Secret feature is disabled by default.
- Record
GHSA-fphj-3g9v-9h48- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
7.8
A vulnerability in the Enable Secret feature of Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode could allow an authenticated, local attacker to issue the enable command and get full administrative privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have valid credentials for the affected device. The vulnerability is due to a logic error in the implementation of the enable command. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the device and issuing the enable command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain full administrative privileges without using the enable password. Note: The Enable Secret feature is disabled by default.
- Record
CVE-2020-3394- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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-285, CWE-862
- 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-2020-3394 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Cisco Nx-os, published August 27, 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.