Every CVE Search/ Get API key

CVE-2020-3577

Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software Inline Pair/Passive Mode Denial of Service Vulnerability

7.4 High

A vulnerability in the ingress packet processing path of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software for interfaces that are configured either as Inline Pair or in Passive mode could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation when Ethernet frames are processed. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious Ethernet frames through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker do either of the following: Fill the /ngfw partition on the device: A full /ngfw partition could result in administrators being unable to log in to the device (including logging in through the console port) or the device being unable to boot up correctly. Note: Manual intervention is required to recover from this situation. Customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to help recover a device in this condition. Cause a process crash: The process crash would cause the device to reload. No manual intervention is necessary to recover the device after the reload.

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

0.44%Down 0.1 points since Apr 14, 2021
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 7.4

Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software Inline Pair/Passive Mode Denial of Service Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the ingress packet processing path of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software for interfaces that are configured either as Inline Pair or in Passive mode could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation when Ethernet frames are processed. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious Ethernet frames through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker do either of the following: Fill the /ngfw partition on the device: A full /ngfw partition could result in administrators being unable to log in to the device (including logging in through the console port) or the device being unable to boot up correctly. Note: Manual intervention is required to recover from this situation. Customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to help recover a device in this condition. Cause a process crash: The process crash would cause the device to reload. No manual intervention is necessary to recover the device after the reload.

Record
CVE-2020-3577
CVSS 3.0
7.4 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-20
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-24848 7.4

A vulnerability in the ingress packet processing path of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software for interfaces that are configured either as Inline Pair or in Passive mode could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation when Ethernet frames are processed. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious Ethernet frames through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker do either of the following: Fill the /ngfw partition on the device: A full /ngfw partition could result in administrators being unable to log in to the device (including logging in through the console port) or the device being unable to boot up correctly. Note: Manual intervention is required to recover from this situation. Customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to help recover a device in this condition. Cause a process crash: The process crash would cause the device to reload. No manual intervention is necessary to recover the device after the reload.

Record
EUVD-2020-24848
CVSS 3.0
7.4 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-wf6m-95w9-cc47 7.4

A vulnerability in the ingress packet processing path of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD)...

A vulnerability in the ingress packet processing path of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software for interfaces that are configured either as Inline Pair or in Passive mode could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation when Ethernet frames are processed. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious Ethernet frames through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker do either of the following: Fill the /ngfw partition on the device: A full /ngfw partition could result in administrators being unable to log in to the device (including logging in through the console port) or the device being unable to boot up correctly. Note: Manual intervention is required to recover from this situation. Customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to help recover a device in this condition. Cause a process crash: The process crash would cause the device to reload. No manual intervention is necessary to recover the device after the reload.

Record
GHSA-wf6m-95w9-cc47
CVSS 3.1
7.4 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-20
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 7.4

A vulnerability in the ingress packet processing path of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software for interfaces that are configured either as Inline Pair or in Passive mode could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation when Ethernet frames are processed. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious Ethernet frames through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker do either of the following: Fill the /ngfw partition on the device: A full /ngfw partition could result in administrators being unable to log in to the device (including logging in through the console port) or the device being unable to boot up correctly. Note: Manual intervention is required to recover from this situation. Customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to help recover a device in this condition. Cause a process crash: The process crash would cause the device to reload. No manual intervention is necessary to recover the device after the reload.

Record
CVE-2020-3577
CVSS 3.1
7.4 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 3.0
7.4 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 2.0
6.1 MediumAV:A/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
Weakness
CWE-20
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
facts
aliases, publishedEUVD
first indexedCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2020-3577 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.4) 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 0.44%, the 38th percentile. No source names a fixed version.

References

MoveEnter Open