CVE-2020-3401
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 web-based management interface of Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct path traversal attacks and obtain read access to sensitive files on an affected system. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of HTTP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request that contains directory traversal character sequences to the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to view arbitrary files on the affected system.
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 confidenceA path traversal vulnerability in Cisco SD-WAN vManage's web-based management interface allows authenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary files on the system by sending HTTP requests containing directory traversal sequences (e.g., ../../). The flaw stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied input in HTTP requests.
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<= 19.2.2CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Cisco SD-WAN vManage deploymentLocate vManage instances in your network inventory or identify them via network scanning for typical vManage ports (443, 8443). Confirm the device type is Cisco SD-WAN vManage.Affected if The target system is Cisco SD-WAN vManage
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Verify web management interface is enabledConfirm the vManage web-based management interface is accessible by attempting to reach the login page on ports 443 or 8443, or check firewall rules allowing HTTP/HTTPS to the vManage IP.Affected if The vManage web management interface is exposed and reachable on the network
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Check firmware version against affected rangeLog into vManage and navigate to Administration > Settings > System Settings to view the software version, or use the CLI command 'show version' to confirm the installed firmware version number.Affected if The installed firmware version is 19.2.2 or lower (any version up to and including 19.2.2)
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Assess management interface exposureReview firewall rules, access control lists, or VPN policies to determine if the vManage web interface is accessible from networks outside your trusted internal network.Affected if The vManage web management interface is accessible from untrusted networks or the internet
A user is affected if they have Cisco SD-WAN vManage running firmware version 19.2.2 or lower with the web management interface enabled and exposed to network access.
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 security patch or upgrade to a fixed version. As a compensating control, restrict web management interface access to trusted IPs and consider WAF rules to block directory traversal patterns until the patch is applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3401 — 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-2020-3401 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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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.
- 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
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