# CVE-2020-3396: Cisco IOS XE Software IOx Guest Shell USB SSD Namespace Protection Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

> Physical attackers can modify USB SSD files to bypass container protections and gain root privileges on Cisco IOS XE devices.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Sep 2020
- **Updated:** 13 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-22hc-p772-wg38

## What is CVE-2020-3396?

CVE-2020-3396 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 24 Sep 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the file system on the pluggable USB 3.0 Solid State Drive (SSD) for Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, physical attacker to remove the USB 3.0 SSD and modify sensitive areas of the file system, including the namespace container protections. The vulnerability occurs because the USB 3.0 SSD control data is not stored on the internal boot flash. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by removing the USB 3.0 SSD, modifying or deleting files on the USB 3.0 SSD by using another device, and then reinserting the USB 3.0 SSD on the original device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to remove container protections and perform file actions outside the namespace of the container with root privileges.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management), CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-3396?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios Xe.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-3396?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-3396 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-3396 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3396 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-2020-3396 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-3396 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 24 Sep 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3396 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-2020-3396/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3396/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-3396
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3396
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-3396

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3396/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.