Nexus Data BrokerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2020-3597
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 configuration restore feature of Cisco Nexus Data Broker software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to perform a directory traversal attack on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of configuration backup files. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading an administrator to restore a crafted configuration backup file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to overwrite arbitrary files that are accessible through the affected software 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 confidenceA directory traversal vulnerability in Cisco Nexus Data Broker's configuration restore feature allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to overwrite arbitrary files by tricking an administrator into restoring a crafted configuration backup file. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of configuration backup files, which do not properly sanitize path traversal sequences.
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
Nexus Data BrokerApplication
<= 3.9\(0\)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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
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 Nexus Data Broker installationLocate the Cisco Nexus Data Broker application on the system or network inventory. Check for the presence of NDB software, typically installed on Linux or as a virtual appliance.Affected if The product is present on the network or system.
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Determine installed NDB versionAccess the NDB administrative interface or use the product's version command to retrieve the current software version. Compare the installed version against the affected range of <= 3.9(0).Affected if The installed version is 3.9(0) or any earlier version.
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Verify configuration restore feature accessibilityCheck the NDB administrative interface or command line for the configuration restore or backup/restore functionality. Determine if this feature is exposed and accessible to administrators.Affected if The configuration restore feature is available and can be accessed by administrators.
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Review recent configuration restore activityExamine NDB logs, audit trails, or system logs for any configuration restore events, particularly those occurring around the time of potential attack or from untrusted sources.Affected if Restore events exist for configuration files that were not obtained from trusted, internal sources.
A user is affected if Cisco Nexus Data Broker version 3.9(0) or earlier is installed and the configuration restore feature has been used with files from untrusted sources, allowing potential file overwrite via path traversal sequences.
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 Cisco patch for CVE-2020-3597 when available. Until then, ensure administrators only restore configuration files from trusted sources and consider implementing additional file validation controls at the network perimeter.
Fix this in Nexus Data Broker
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3597 — 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-2020-3597 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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