Secure Firewall Management CenterApplication · Cisco

CVE-2020-3315

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-05-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.6.0 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Multiple Cisco products are affected by a vulnerability in the Snort detection engine that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass the configured file policies on an affected system. The vulnerability is due to errors in how the Snort detection engine handles specific HTTP responses. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP packets that would flow through an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass the configured file policies and deliver a malicious payload to the protected network.

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 confidence

This vulnerability exists in Cisco products using the Snort detection engine. The flaw in how Snort handles specific HTTP responses allows attackers to craft packets that bypass configured file policies, potentially delivering malicious payloads to protected networks.

MitigationApply relevant Cisco patches for affected products and ensure Snort detection engine is updated to the latest version. Review and verify that file inspection policies are functioning correctly after updates.

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
Secure Firewall Management CenterApplication
Affected:= 2.9.14.4= 2.9.15= 2.9.16
Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication
Affected:< 6.6.0
iOSApplication
Affected:= 15.2\(7\)e= 16.11.2= 17.3.1

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

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 your Cisco product and version
    Use 'show version' on the device CLI or access the management console to determine if you are running Cisco Firepower Threat Defense, Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center, or Cisco iOS, and record the exact version number.
    Affected if The product is one of: Firepower Threat Defense, Secure Firewall Management Center, or Cisco iOS with a version matching the affected ranges.
  2. Verify Snort detection engine is enabled
    Access the Firepower or Firewall management interface and check the intrusion policy settings. On CLI, use 'show snort' or check the policy configuration to confirm the Snort detection engine is active.
    Affected if Snort detection engine is enabled and processing traffic.
  3. Confirm file inspection policies are configured
    Check the file policy settings in the Firepower or Secure Firewall Management Center under the Access Control or Intrusion Policy settings. Look for any File Policy or File Inspection configurations that inspect HTTP traffic.
    Affected if File policies for HTTP response inspection are configured.
  4. Check Snort engine version
    In the management center, navigate to System > Updates > Snort HD Update or use 'show snort version' command to determine the installed Snort detection engine version.
    Affected if The Snort engine version is earlier than the patched version for your product.

You are affected if your Cisco product and version match the affected ranges AND Snort with file policies is enabled, allowing crafted HTTP responses to potentially bypass inspection.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.6.0 or later
Fixed in 6.6.0
Interim mitigation

Apply relevant Cisco patches for affected products and ensure Snort detection engine is updated to the latest version. Review and verify that file inspection policies are functioning correctly after updates.

Fix this in Secure Firewall Management Center Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3315 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-3315 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