CVE-2020-3415
Cisco NX-OS Software Data Management Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the Data Management Engine (DME) of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packet to a Layer 2-adjacent affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause the Cisco Discovery Protocol process to crash and restart multiple times, causing the affected device to reload and resulting in a DoS condition. Note: Cisco Discovery Protocol is a Layer 2 protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be in the same broadcast domain as the affected device (Layer 2 adjacent). Exploitation of this vulnerability also requires jumbo frames to be enabled on the interface that receives the crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packets on the affected device.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Adjacent network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
8.8
Cisco NX-OS Software Data Management Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the Data Management Engine (DME) of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packet to a Layer 2-adjacent affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause the Cisco Discovery Protocol process to crash and restart multiple times, causing the affected device to reload and resulting in a DoS condition. Note: Cisco Discovery Protocol is a Layer 2 protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be in the same broadcast domain as the affected device (Layer 2 adjacent). Exploitation of this vulnerability also requires jumbo frames to be enabled on the interface that receives the crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packets on the affected device.
- Record
CVE-2020-3415- CVSS 3.0
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-787
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-24686
8.8
A vulnerability in the Data Management Engine (DME) of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packet to a Layer 2-adjacent affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause the Cisco Discovery Protocol process to crash and restart multiple times, causing the affected device to reload and resulting in a DoS condition. Note: Cisco Discovery Protocol is a Layer 2 protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be in the same broadcast domain as the affected device (Layer 2 adjacent). Exploitation of this vulnerability also requires jumbo frames to be enabled on the interface that receives the crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packets on the affected device.
- Record
EUVD-2020-24686- CVSS 3.0
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-f9q3-64mg-5r5q No score
A vulnerability in the Data Management Engine (DME) of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an...
A vulnerability in the Data Management Engine (DME) of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packet to a Layer 2-adjacent affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause the Cisco Discovery Protocol process to crash and restart multiple times, causing the affected device to reload and resulting in a DoS condition. Note: Cisco Discovery Protocol is a Layer 2 protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be in the same broadcast domain as the affected device (Layer 2 adjacent). Exploitation of this vulnerability also requires jumbo frames to be enabled on the interface that receives the crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packets on the affected device.
- Record
GHSA-f9q3-64mg-5r5q- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
8.8
A vulnerability in the Data Management Engine (DME) of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packet to a Layer 2-adjacent affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause the Cisco Discovery Protocol process to crash and restart multiple times, causing the affected device to reload and resulting in a DoS condition. Note: Cisco Discovery Protocol is a Layer 2 protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be in the same broadcast domain as the affected device (Layer 2 adjacent). Exploitation of this vulnerability also requires jumbo frames to be enabled on the interface that receives the crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packets on the affected device.
- Record
CVE-2020-3415- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.0
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.9 High
AV:A/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-787
- 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-2020-3415 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.8) in Cisco Nx-os Software, published August 27, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.81%, the 57th percentile. No source names a fixed version.