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Ios XeOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2020-3227

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
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.

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 · high confidence

A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software's IOx application hosting infrastructure allows unauthenticated remote attackers to obtain authorization tokens through malformed API requests. The flaw stems from incorrect handling of authorization token requests, enabling attackers to execute any IOx API commands without proper authentication.

MitigationApply the Cisco IOS XE software update for CVE-2020-3227. Until patched, restrict network access to management interfaces and consider disabling IOx if not actively used.

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
Affected:= 3.11.6e= 16.3.1= 16.3.1a= 16.3.2= 16.3.3= 16.3.4= 16.3.5= 16.3.5b= 16.3.6= 16.3.7= 16.3.8= 16.3.9

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the device OS
    Run 'show version' or check the device startup banner to confirm the device runs Cisco IOS XE software. Look for 'IOS XE' in the output.
    Affected if The device is NOT running Cisco IOS XE (the vulnerability only affects IOS XE)
  2. Check the installed IOS XE version
    Run 'show version' and locate the version string (for example, 'Version 16.3.5'). Compare this version exactly against the list: 3.11.6e, 16.3.1, 16.3.1a, 16.3.2, 16.3.3, 16.3.4, 16.3.5, 16.3.5b, 16.3.6, 16.3.7, 16.3.8, 16.3.9
    Affected if The installed version exactly matches one of the listed versions (note the equals signs indicate specific versions, not ranges)
  3. Verify if IOx feature is enabled
    Run 'show iox' or 'show feature | include iox' to check whether the IOx application hosting infrastructure is enabled on the device.
    Affected if IOx feature is enabled (the vulnerability exists within IOx infrastructure, so it is only exploitable when IOx is active)
  4. Assess management interface exposure
    Review the device configuration with 'show running-config | include interface' and check access control lists or management plane settings to determine if the IOx API management interface (typically ports 8443 or 443) is externally reachable.
    Affected if The management interface serving IOx API is reachable from untrusted networks (this is required for remote exploitation)

The environment is affected only if the device runs Cisco IOS XE, the installed version exactly matches one of the listed affected versions, IOx is enabled, and the IOx management interface is network-accessible to untrusted parties.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Cisco IOS XE software update for CVE-2020-3227. Until patched, restrict network access to management interfaces and consider disabling IOx if not actively used.

Fix this in Ios Xe Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-3227 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data