Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2020-3227


A vulnerability in the authorization controls for the Cisco IOx application hosting infrastructure in Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute Cisco IOx API commands without proper authorization. The vulnerability is due to incorrect handling of requests for authorization tokens. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using a crafted API call to request such a token. An exploit could allow the attacker to obtain an authorization token and execute any of the IOx API commands on an affected device.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a CRITICAL severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from cisco organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2020, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2020-06-03T18:15:20.730

Last Modified

2026-06-17T03:17:42.447

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

  • Access Vector: NETWORK
  • Access Complexity: LOW
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
  • Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
  • Availability Impact: COMPLETE
Exploitability Score

10.0

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-264
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-863

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Operating System cisco ios_xe 3.11.6e Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.1a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.2 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.3 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.4 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.5 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.5b Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.6 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.7 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.8 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.3.9 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.4.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.4.2 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.4.3 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.5.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.5.1a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.5.1b Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.5.2 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.5.3 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.6.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.6.2 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.6.3 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.6.4 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.6.4a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.6.4s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.6.5 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.6.5a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.6.5b Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.6.6 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.7.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.7.2 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.7.3 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.8.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.8.1a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.8.1b Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.8.1c Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.8.1s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.8.2 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.8.3 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.1a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.1b Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.1c Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.1d Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.1s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.2 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.2a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.2s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.3 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.3a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.3h Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.3s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.4 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.4c Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.10.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.10.1a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.10.1b Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.10.1e Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.10.1s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.10.2 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.10.3 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.11.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.11.1a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.11.1b Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.11.1c Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.11.1s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.1a Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.1c Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For cisco's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.