CVE-2020-3565
Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software TCP Intercept Bypass Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the TCP Intercept functionality of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass configured Access Control Policies (including Geolocation) and Service Polices on an affected system. The vulnerability exists because TCP Intercept is invoked when the embryonic connection limit is reached, which can cause the underlying detection engine to process the packet incorrectly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted stream of traffic that matches a policy on which TCP Intercept is configured. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to match on an incorrect policy, which could allow the traffic to be forwarded when it should be dropped. In addition, the traffic could incorrectly be dropped.
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
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
5.8
Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software TCP Intercept Bypass Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the TCP Intercept functionality of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass configured Access Control Policies (including Geolocation) and Service Polices on an affected system. The vulnerability exists because TCP Intercept is invoked when the embryonic connection limit is reached, which can cause the underlying detection engine to process the packet incorrectly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted stream of traffic that matches a policy on which TCP Intercept is configured. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to match on an incorrect policy, which could allow the traffic to be forwarded when it should be dropped. In addition, the traffic could incorrectly be dropped.
- Record
CVE-2020-3565- CVSS 3.1
- 5.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-284
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-24836
5.8
A vulnerability in the TCP Intercept functionality of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass configured Access Control Policies (including Geolocation) and Service Polices on an affected system. The vulnerability exists because TCP Intercept is invoked when the embryonic connection limit is reached, which can cause the underlying detection engine to process the packet incorrectly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted stream of traffic that matches a policy on which TCP Intercept is configured. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to match on an incorrect policy, which could allow the traffic to be forwarded when it should be dropped. In addition, the traffic could incorrectly be dropped.
- Record
EUVD-2020-24836- CVSS 3.1
- 5.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-6m36-86vp-x4xx
5.8
A vulnerability in the TCP Intercept functionality of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD)...
A vulnerability in the TCP Intercept functionality of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass configured Access Control Policies (including Geolocation) and Service Polices on an affected system. The vulnerability exists because TCP Intercept is invoked when the embryonic connection limit is reached, which can cause the underlying detection engine to process the packet incorrectly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted stream of traffic that matches a policy on which TCP Intercept is configured. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to match on an incorrect policy, which could allow the traffic to be forwarded when it should be dropped. In addition, the traffic could incorrectly be dropped.
- Record
GHSA-6m36-86vp-x4xx- CVSS 3.1
- 5.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-284, CWE-287
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
5.8
A vulnerability in the TCP Intercept functionality of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass configured Access Control Policies (including Geolocation) and Service Polices on an affected system. The vulnerability exists because TCP Intercept is invoked when the embryonic connection limit is reached, which can cause the underlying detection engine to process the packet incorrectly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted stream of traffic that matches a policy on which TCP Intercept is configured. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to match on an incorrect policy, which could allow the traffic to be forwarded when it should be dropped. In addition, the traffic could incorrectly be dropped.
- Record
CVE-2020-3565- CVSS 3.1
- 5.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 4.3 Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-284, CWE-287
- 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-2020-3565 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.8) in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software, published October 21, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.95%, the 61st percentile. No source names a fixed version.