CVE-2020-3480
Cisco IOS XE Software Zone-Based Firewall Denial of Service Vulnerabilities
Multiple vulnerabilities in the Zone-Based Firewall feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall. The vulnerabilities are due to incomplete handling of Layer 4 packets through the device. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending a certain sequence of traffic patterns through the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall, resulting in a denial of service. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
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
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
8.6
Cisco IOS XE Software Zone-Based Firewall Denial of Service Vulnerabilities
Multiple vulnerabilities in the Zone-Based Firewall feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall. The vulnerabilities are due to incomplete handling of Layer 4 packets through the device. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending a certain sequence of traffic patterns through the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall, resulting in a denial of service. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
- Record
CVE-2020-3480- CVSS 3.1
- 8.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-754
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-24751
8.6
Multiple vulnerabilities in the Zone-Based Firewall feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall. The vulnerabilities are due to incomplete handling of Layer 4 packets through the device. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending a certain sequence of traffic patterns through the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall, resulting in a denial of service. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
- Record
EUVD-2020-24751- CVSS 3.1
- 8.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-j8wq-qrfv-42q5
8.6
Multiple vulnerabilities in the Zone-Based Firewall feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow...
Multiple vulnerabilities in the Zone-Based Firewall feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall. The vulnerabilities are due to incomplete handling of Layer 4 packets through the device. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending a certain sequence of traffic patterns through the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall, resulting in a denial of service. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
- Record
GHSA-j8wq-qrfv-42q5- CVSS 3.1
- 8.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-754
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
8.6
Multiple vulnerabilities in the Zone-Based Firewall feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall. The vulnerabilities are due to incomplete handling of Layer 4 packets through the device. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending a certain sequence of traffic patterns through the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall, resulting in a denial of service. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
- Record
CVE-2020-3480- CVSS 3.1
- 8.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.8 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-754
- 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-2020-3480 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.6) 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 1.40%, the 72nd percentile. No source names a fixed version.