CVE-2020-3403
Cisco IOS XE Software Command Injection Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject a command to the underlying operating system that will execute with root privileges upon the next reboot of the device. The authenticated user must have privileged EXEC permissions on the device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient protection of values passed to a script that executes during device startup. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by writing values to a specific file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands with root privileges each time the affected device is restarted.
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 XE Software Command Injection Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject a command to the underlying operating system that will execute with root privileges upon the next reboot of the device. The authenticated user must have privileged EXEC permissions on the device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient protection of values passed to a script that executes during device startup. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by writing values to a specific file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands with root privileges each time the affected device is restarted.
- Record
CVE-2020-3403- 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-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-24674
6.7
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject a command to the underlying operating system that will execute with root privileges upon the next reboot of the device. The authenticated user must have privileged EXEC permissions on the device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient protection of values passed to a script that executes during device startup. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by writing values to a specific file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands with root privileges each time the affected device is restarted.
- Record
EUVD-2020-24674- 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-jwvq-qvwv-pjcm
7.8
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker...
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject a command to the underlying operating system that will execute with root privileges upon the next reboot of the device. The authenticated user must have privileged EXEC permissions on the device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient protection of values passed to a script that executes during device startup. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by writing values to a specific file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands with root privileges each time the affected device is restarted.
- Record
GHSA-jwvq-qvwv-pjcm- 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 - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
7.8
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject a command to the underlying operating system that will execute with root privileges upon the next reboot of the device. The authenticated user must have privileged EXEC permissions on the device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient protection of values passed to a script that executes during device startup. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by writing values to a specific file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands with root privileges each time the affected device is restarted.
- Record
CVE-2020-3403- 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
- 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-78
- 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-2020-3403 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.7) in Cisco Ios Xe Software, published September 24, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.38%, the 31st percentile. No source names a fixed version.