Ios XeOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2020-3141
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedMultiple vulnerabilities in the web management framework of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with read-only privileges to elevate privileges to the level of an Administrator user on an affected device. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThis CVE describes multiple vulnerabilities in the web management framework of Cisco IOS XE Software that allow an authenticated remote attacker with read-only privileges to escalate their privileges to Administrator level on affected devices. The vulnerability stems from improper privilege enforcement within the web management interface, allowing read-only users to perform administrative actions.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Ios XeOperating system
= 16.9.4= 17.2.1= 17.3= 17.4.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm web management interface is enabledRun 'show ip http server status' or 'show running-config | include ip http' to check if the HTTP/HTTPS server is activeAffected if HTTP or HTTPS server is enabled (the vulnerability only applies when web management is active)
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Identify the installed Cisco IOS XE versionExecute 'show version' and locate the IOS XE version string in the outputAffected if The version matches or falls within the affected releases (16.9.4, 17.2.1, 17.3, or 17.4.1)
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Check for existing read-only user accountsRun 'show running-config | include username' to enumerate configured local users, then check privilege levels with 'show privilege' or review the user configuration for privilege 5 (read-only) accountsAffected if One or more read-only (privilege 5) user accounts exist on the device
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Verify privilege assignment for web management usersReview user privilege levels in the configuration and test web UI access with a read-only account to confirm privilege enforcement behaviorAffected if Read-only users can access privileged web management functions
The device is affected if it runs a vulnerable IOS XE version (16.9.4, 17.2.1, 17.3, or 17.4.1) AND has the web management interface enabled AND has read-only user accounts configured.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the relevant Cisco IOS XE software updates or patches provided by Cisco for this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict web management interface access to trusted networks or disable the web management interface if not required.
Fix this in Ios Xe
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,392.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3141 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-3141 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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