Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw lets a fully privileged local administrator on certain Cisco industrial routers inject commands into VDS-related CLI handling. If abused, the attacker could run Linux shell commands as root on the Virtual Device Server. The barrier is high, but the impact is serious for industrial edge environments.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted industrial infrastructure risk. It is not evidenced as actively exploited in the supplied sources, but compromise of privileged router access could lead to root-level command execution inside VDS.
Technical view
CVE-2020-3210 is a CWE-77 command injection in Cisco IOS CLI parsers for VDS-related commands on Cisco 809/829 Industrial ISRs and CGR1000 routers. Exploitation requires local authenticated access with privilege level 15. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary commands in the VDS Linux shell as root.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to organizations operating the named Cisco industrial router families with affected IOS/VDS functionality and users able to reach the device CLI with privilege level 15.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. The attack is not described as remote unauthenticated; it requires valid high-privilege local credentials and malicious input to affected VDS-related CLI commands.
Researcher notes
The key constraints are AV:L and PR:H with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact after exploitation. Source detail is sufficient for exposure scoping, but remediation specifics should be taken directly from Cisco's advisory.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco's advisory for affected and fixed software guidance.
- Limit privilege level 15 access to trusted administrators only.
- Restrict management-plane access to approved administrative networks.
- Audit and rotate credentials for industrial router administrators.
- Monitor device logs for unusual VDS-related CLI activity.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco 809, 829, and CGR1000 routers in scope.
- Confirm installed Cisco IOS versions against Cisco's advisory.
- Identify devices with VDS-related functionality enabled or in use.
- Review accounts with privilege level 15 access.
- Check administrative logs for suspicious VDS CLI command use.
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-77: Command execution behavior lookup
Command injection weaknesses can lead defenders to review execution techniques and command interpreter telemetry. 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 lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-3210 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
- 6.7 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H0.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
6.7MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20200603 Cisco IOS Software for Cisco Industrial Routers Virtual Device Server CLI Command Injection 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.
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.