Unified Contact Center EnterpriseApplication · Cisco
CVE-2020-3163
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the Live Data server of Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability exists because the affected software improperly manages resources when processing inbound Live Data traffic. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending multiple crafted Live Data packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could cause the affected device to run out of buffer resources, which could result in a stack overflow and cause the affected device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. Note: The Live Data port in Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise devices allows only a single TCP connection. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would have to send crafted packets to an affected device before a legitimate Live Data client establishes a connection.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in the Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise Live Data server allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause denial of service. The vulnerability stems from improper resource management when processing inbound Live Data traffic. Attackers send crafted Live Data packets before a legitimate client connects (since only one TCP connection is allowed), exhausting buffer resources and triggering a stack overflow that causes the device to reload.
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
Unified Contact Center EnterpriseApplication
< 12.5\(1\)CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Identify Cisco UCCE installationCheck the installed Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise version using the command 'utils vmtools' or by reviewing the system inventory in the Cisco Unified OS Administration interface.Affected if The installed version is Cisco UCCE and is below version 12.5(1)
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Confirm Live Data component presenceDetermine if the Live Data server component is installed and running on the UCCE system. This can be verified through the Cisco Unified Serviceability interface or by checking for Live Data processes.Affected if Live Data server component is installed and active on the system
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Identify Live Data network exposureCheck which network interfaces and ports the Live Data service is bound to. Use 'netstat' or similar network inspection tools to identify listening ports associated with Live Data.Affected if The Live Data service is listening on a network-accessible IP address (not localhost only)
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Assess external access to Live Data portVerify network accessibility of the Live Data port from external sources by reviewing firewall rules, ACLs, or by performing a port scan from an external host.Affected if The Live Data port is reachable from untrusted networks or the internet without filtering
A system is affected if it runs Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise with Live Data enabled and the Live Data port is network-accessible, particularly when the UCCE version is below 12.5(1).
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 data12.5
Apply the Cisco patch for CVE-2020-3163 when available. In the interim, restrict network access to the Live Data port using firewalls or ACLs to prevent unauthorized attackers from reaching the vulnerable component.
Fix this in Unified Contact Center Enterprise
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,152.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3163 — 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-2020-3163 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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