Enterprise Network Function Virtualization InfrastructureApplication · Cisco

CVE-2020-3365

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-09-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 directory permissions of Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software (NFVIS) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform a directory traversal attack on a limited set of restricted directories. The vulnerability is due to a flaw in the logic that governs directory permissions. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using capabilities that are not controlled by the role-based access control (RBAC) mechanisms of the software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to overwrite files 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

This is a directory permission logic flaw in Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software (NFVIS) that allows an authenticated, remote attacker to perform directory traversal attacks on restricted directories. The vulnerability exists because certain capabilities bypass role-based access control (RBAC) mechanisms, enabling attackers to overwrite files on the affected device.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco security patch for NFVIS as specified in the official Cisco security advisory; review RBAC configurations to ensure proper permission controls are in place.

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
Enterprise Network Function Virtualization InfrastructureApplication
Affected:>= 3.5.1, <= 4.1.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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. Determine NFVIS installed version
    Run 'show version' command on the NFVIS CLI or check via admin GUI under System > About
    Affected if Installed version falls within 3.5.1 through 4.1.2 inclusive
  2. Identify user roles with elevated capabilities
    Access NFVIS admin GUI under Administration > Users > Roles or run 'show user roles' CLI command to list configured roles and their assigned capabilities
    Affected if Any role contains capabilities that enable file write or directory traversal operations beyond the user's assigned permissions
  3. Verify RBAC enforcement on file operations
    Check if RBAC is properly enforcing restrictions on file write operations in the configuration. Look for any capability configurations that explicitly bypass file access controls
    Affected if RBAC configuration shows capabilities that circumvent standard permission checks for file system operations
  4. Inspect audit logs for unauthorized file access
    Review NFVIS audit logs for any instances of directory traversal patterns or unusual file overwrite events, particularly from authenticated sessions
    Affected if Logs show file write or traversal attempts that should have been blocked by RBAC but succeeded

User is affected if NFVIS version is between 3.5.1 and 4.1.2 and any user role has capabilities that bypass RBAC file access restrictions.

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 a release after 4.1.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Cisco security patch for NFVIS as specified in the official Cisco security advisory; review RBAC configurations to ensure proper permission controls are in place.

Fix this in Enterprise Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3365 — 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-2020-3365 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