# CVE-2020-3513: Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco ASR 900 Series Route Switch Processor 3 Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerabilities

> Authenticated local attackers with high privileges can execute arbitrary code at bootup by manipulating ROMMON variables, compromising the device's chain of trust.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/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:** 24 Sep 2020
- **Updated:** 13 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-59cc-3745-q8c3

## What is CVE-2020-3513?

CVE-2020-3513 is a medium-severity code injection 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

Multiple vulnerabilities in the initialization routines that are executed during bootup of Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco ASR 900 Series Aggregation Services Routers with a Route Switch Processor 3 (RSP3) installed could allow an authenticated, local attacker with high privileges to execute persistent code at bootup and break the chain of trust. These vulnerabilities are due to incorrect validations by boot scripts when specific ROM monitor (ROMMON) variables are set. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by copying a specific file to the local file system of an affected device and defining specific ROMMON variables. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to run arbitrary code on the underlying operating system (OS) with root privileges. To exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker would need to have access to the root shell on the device or have physical access to the device.

Weakness: CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code), CWE-749 (Exposed Dangerous Method or Function)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-3513?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios Xe.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-3513?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-3513 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-3513 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3513 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-2020-3513 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-3513 is a medium-severity code injection 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-2020-3513 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-2020-3513/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3513/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-3513
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3513
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-3513

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3513/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.