Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-3190 can let an unauthenticated remote attacker disrupt IPsec traffic on affected Cisco IOS XR devices. Malicious ICMP error messages can exhaust IPsec memory, causing future IPsec packets to be dropped. Recovery requires manual intervention, so the business impact is service interruption rather than data theft.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate operational risk for networks relying on Cisco IOS XR IPsec. It is unlikely to indicate breach risk, but a successful attack can interrupt encrypted connectivity and require hands-on recovery.
Technical view
The flaw is in the Cisco IOS XR IPsec packet processor and is attributed to improper packet handling and resource exhaustion. Cisco describes malicious ICMP error messages being punted to the IPsec processor, depleting IPsec memory and causing subsequent IPsec packets to be dropped. CVSS is 5.8 medium.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant for Cisco IOS XR devices that terminate or process IPsec sessions and can receive attacker-controlled ICMP error messages. The source bundle does not specify affected IOS XR versions or configurations beyond Cisco IOS XR Software.
Exploitation context
The source bundle supports unauthenticated remote exploitation for denial of service. It does not identify public exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV in the provided data. No confidentiality or integrity impact is described.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Cisco advisory metadata in the bundle. Version specificity, fixed releases, and concrete workarounds are not included here, so validation should start with Cisco’s advisory before making remediation claims.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco’s advisory for affected releases, fixed releases, and vendor-approved workarounds.
- Prioritize Cisco IOS XR devices carrying business-critical IPsec traffic.
- Apply Cisco-provided software updates or mitigations where the advisory confirms applicability.
- Limit unnecessary exposure of IPsec-facing control paths according to approved network design.
- Prepare an operational recovery runbook because successful exploitation requires manual intervention.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco IOS XR devices that process or terminate IPsec sessions.
- Compare device software releases against Cisco’s advisory.
- Check whether untrusted ICMP error messages can reach relevant IOS XR devices.
- Review monitoring for IPsec memory pressure or unexpected IPsec packet drops.
- Confirm incident response procedures cover manual recovery for affected devices.
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-400: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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-2020-3190 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
- 5.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L
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:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L3.91.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
5.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20200304 Cisco IOS XR Software IPsec Packet Processor Denial of Service 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.
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.