# CVE-2020-3415: Cisco NX-OS Software Data Management Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

> An adjacent attacker can execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service on Cisco NX-OS devices by sending crafted CDP packets when jumbo frames are enabled.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:A/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:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 27 Aug 2020
- **Updated:** 13 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-f9q3-64mg-5r5q

## What is CVE-2020-3415?

CVE-2020-3415 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Cisco Nx-Os, published on 27 Aug 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 Data Management Engine (DME) of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packet to a Layer 2-adjacent affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges or cause the Cisco Discovery Protocol process to crash and restart multiple times, causing the affected device to reload and resulting in a DoS condition. Note: Cisco Discovery Protocol is a Layer 2 protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be in the same broadcast domain as the affected device (Layer 2 adjacent). Exploitation of this vulnerability also requires jumbo frames to be enabled on the interface that receives the crafted Cisco Discovery Protocol packets on the affected device.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-3415?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Nx-Os.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-3415?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-3415 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-3415 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3415 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Nx-Os

- [CVE-2024-20399](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20399/): Cisco NX-OS Command Injection (medium 6.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-1361](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1361/): Cisco NX-OS Software Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Actions Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2018-0301](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0301/): Memory corruption in Cisco NX-OS unknown (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-1453](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1453/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-1341](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1341/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-3415 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-3415 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Cisco Nx-Os, published on 27 Aug 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-2020-3415 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Nx-Os. 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-2020-3415/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3415/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-3415
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3415
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-3415

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3415/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.