# CVE-2020-3459: Cisco FXOS Software for Firepower 4100/9300 Series Command Injection Vulnerability

> Authenticated local attackers can inject arbitrary commands into Cisco FXOS CLI to execute code with root privileges on Firepower devices.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 21 Oct 2020
- **Updated:** 13 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8qgh-2x39-7mw4

## What is CVE-2020-3459?

CVE-2020-3459 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System, published on 21 Oct 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 CLI of Cisco FXOS Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject arbitrary commands that are executed with root privileges. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of commands supplied by the user. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to a device and submitting crafted input to the affected command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-3459?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-3459?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-3459 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-3459 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3459 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System

- [CVE-2018-0310](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0310/): Information disclosure in Cisco FXOS and NX-OS unknown (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2015-6435](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-6435/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-1368](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1368/): Memory corruption in Cisco NX-OS Software (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-3456](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3456/): Cisco FXOS Software Firepower Chassis Manager Cross-Site Request Forgery Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-3172](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3172/): Cisco FXOS and NX-OS Software Cisco Discovery Protocol Arbitrary Code Execution and Denial of Service Vulnerability (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-3459 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-3459 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System, published on 21 Oct 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-2020-3459 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System. 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-2020-3459/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3459/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-3459
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3459
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-3459

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3459/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.