# CVE-2020-3198: Cisco IOS Software for Cisco Industrial Routers Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerabilities

> Unauthenticated remote attackers can execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service on Cisco Industrial Routers via memory corruption flaws.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 3 Jun 2020
- **Updated:** 15 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xrh6-v283-w8g7

## What is CVE-2020-3198?

CVE-2020-3198 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Cisco Ios, published on 3 Jun 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Multiple vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS Software for Cisco 809 and 829 Industrial Integrated Services Routers (Industrial ISRs) and Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR1000) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker or an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary code on an affected system or cause an affected system to crash and reload. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-3198?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-3198?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-3198 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-3198 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3198 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Ios

- [CVE-2017-12240](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12240/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software DHCP Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-3881](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3881/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-0167](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0167/): Cisco IOS, XR, and XE Software Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-6736](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6736/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-6737](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6737/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-3198 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-3198 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Cisco Ios, published on 3 Jun 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3198 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Ios. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3198/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3198/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-3198
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3198
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-3198

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3198/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.