Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-3149 is a stored cross-site scripting flaw in Cisco Identity Services Engine’s web management interface. A highly privileged authenticated attacker could save malicious content that runs when another user views the affected interface. Cisco says ISE 2.7.0 and later contain the fix.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority remediation item. It is not currently evidenced as actively exploited, but Cisco ISE is a security-critical platform. Upgrade during the next controlled maintenance window, sooner if many administrators share access.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-79 caused by insufficient input validation in Cisco ISE Software’s web-based management interface. CVSS 3.0 is 4.8 with network access, low complexity, high privileges, required user interaction, changed scope, and low confidentiality and integrity impact. Availability impact is not indicated.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations running Cisco ISE Software before the fixed 2.7.0 release, especially where multiple administrators use the web management interface. The attacker needs high privileges, which reduces likelihood but does not remove risk in shared administration environments.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires authenticated high-privilege access and another user interaction with the stored interface content. Impact is browser-context script execution or access to sensitive browser-based information.
Researcher notes
The source bundle does not identify the specific vulnerable field or provide affected version granularity beyond Cisco ISE Software and the fixed 2.7.0 release. Avoid assuming exploit availability, unauthenticated access, or broader Cisco product impact without additional vendor evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected Cisco ISE deployments to version 2.7.0 or later.
- Review Cisco’s advisory for the supported upgrade path and affected release details.
- Prioritize systems where the management interface is reachable by broad administrator groups.
- Limit high-privilege ISE accounts to users with an operational need.
- Monitor Cisco guidance for any later corrections or compensating controls.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco ISE Software instances and record running versions.
- Confirm whether each instance is earlier than fixed release 2.7.0.
- Review administrator access lists for unnecessary high-privilege accounts.
- Check ISE audit records for unexpected management-interface changes.
- Document remediation status for each ISE deployment.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-3149 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N1.72.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
4.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20200205 Cisco Identity Services Engine Stored Cross-Site Scripting VulnerabilityCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_CISCO
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.