LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2020-3225: Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Common Industrial Protocol Denial of Service Vulnerabilities

Multiple vulnerabilities in the implementation of the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) feature of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerabilities are due to insufficient input processing of CIP traffic. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending crafted CIP traffic to be processed by an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition.

HighCVSS 8.6Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw can let an unauthenticated remote attacker crash and reload affected Cisco IOS or IOS XE devices that process crafted Common Industrial Protocol traffic. The business impact is service interruption, especially where Cisco network equipment supports industrial or operational technology connectivity.

Executive priority

Treat as a high-priority availability risk for environments using Cisco industrial networking features. Prioritize exposed or operationally critical devices, because successful exploitation can interrupt network service through forced reloads.

Technical view

Cisco describes insufficient input processing in the CIP feature of IOS and IOS XE. Crafted CIP traffic can trigger a device reload, causing denial of service. The CVSS 3.0 score is 8.6 with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, and high availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Cisco IOS or IOS XE devices with the CIP feature enabled or reachable. The bundle names Cisco IOS 12.2(55)SE, but the Cisco advisory should be checked for the complete affected software matrix.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. The described attack path is unauthenticated and remote, but it requires crafted CIP traffic reaching an affected device for processing.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports a remote unauthenticated DoS caused by improper input validation in CIP traffic handling. The supplied data is incomplete on fixed versions and full affected platforms, so rely on Cisco’s advisory for product-specific remediation details.

Mitigation direction

  • Check Cisco advisory for fixed software and affected-release details.
  • Inventory Cisco IOS and IOS XE devices using CIP.
  • Prioritize vendor-recommended remediation for reachable CIP-enabled devices.
  • Limit untrusted access to CIP services where architecture permits.
  • Monitor affected environments for unexpected device reloads.

Validation and detection

  • Identify devices running Cisco IOS or IOS XE.
  • Confirm whether the CIP feature is enabled or reachable.
  • Compare running versions against Cisco advisory affected-release guidance.
  • Review logs and availability monitoring for unexplained reloads.
  • Document compensating controls if immediate remediation is unavailable.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
3

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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 · low confidence lookup

CWE-20: 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 lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-3225 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8.6 (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:H

Official CVE source material

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.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
8.6CVSS 3.0HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H3.94Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

8.6High
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-3225Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
CiscoCisco IOS 12.2(55)SEn/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-20

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.