# CVE-2020-3224: Cisco IOS XE Software Web UI Command Injection Vulnerability

> Authenticated attackers can inject IOS commands via the web UI to alter device configuration or cause denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 3 Jun 2020
- **Updated:** 15 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r7vq-qr3g-r3wg

## What is CVE-2020-3224?

CVE-2020-3224 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 3 Jun 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the web-based user interface (web UI) of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with read-only privileges to inject IOS commands to an affected device. The injected commands should require a higher privilege level in order to be executed. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of specific HTTP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests to a specific web UI endpoint on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject IOS commands to the affected device, which could allow the attacker to alter the configuration of the device or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command), CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-3224?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios Xe.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-3224?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-3224 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-3224 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3224 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Ios Xe

- [CVE-2023-20198](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20198/): Cisco IOS XE Web UI Privilege Escalation (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-0151](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0151/): Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software Quality of Service Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-20273](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20273/): Cisco IOS XE Web UI Command Injection (high 7.2, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-20188](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20188/): Hardcoded credentials in Cisco IOS XE Software (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2021-34770](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-34770/): Cisco IOS XE Software for Catalyst 9000 Family Wireless Controllers CAPWAP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-3224 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-3224 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 3 Jun 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3224 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Ios Xe. 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-2020-3224/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3224/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-3224
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3224
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-3224

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3224/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.