Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Some Cisco vWAAS appliance images shipped with default, static credentials. If an attacker can reach the NFVIS CLI, they may log in without prior access and gain administrator privileges. That creates full confidentiality, integrity, and availability risk for affected appliances.
Executive priority
Treat this as urgent for any affected Cisco WAN optimization appliances. The issue can allow unauthenticated administrative access, so exposed systems should be identified, isolated from untrusted access, and remediated under Cisco guidance before routine change windows.
Technical view
CVE-2020-3446 affects Cisco vWAAS with NFVIS-bundled images for Cisco ENCS 5400-W Series and CSP 5000-W Series appliances. The flaw is CWE-798: default, static passwords on user accounts. The CVSS 3.0 score is 9.8 because exploitation is remote, unauthenticated, low complexity, and can grant NFVIS CLI administrator privileges.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Cisco ENCS 5400-W or CSP 5000-W appliances run the affected vWAAS NFVIS-bundled images and NFVIS CLI access is reachable over a network. The provided sources do not identify exact vulnerable versions beyond the affected platform and bundled image context.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not cite active exploitation, and KEV is false. Exploitation requires network access to the affected NFVIS CLI and use of default static credentials. No exploit code or public weaponization evidence is provided in the supplied sources.
Researcher notes
The evidence is strong for vulnerability class, impact, and affected platform family, but incomplete for exact version mapping and fixed releases in the supplied bundle. Use Cisco advisory cisco-sa-waas-encsw-cspw-cred-hZzL29A7 as the authoritative source for applicability and remediation details.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco advisory for affected image details and official remediation.
- Apply Cisco-provided fixed software or guidance when confirmed applicable.
- Restrict NFVIS CLI reachability to trusted administration networks while remediating.
- Audit for default or static accounts on affected appliances.
- Do not rely on password changes alone unless Cisco guidance confirms sufficiency.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco ENCS 5400-W and CSP 5000-W appliances.
- Identify vWAAS deployments using NFVIS-bundled images.
- Confirm whether NFVIS CLI is network-reachable from untrusted segments.
- Check device software against Cisco advisory applicability criteria.
- Review administrative logs for unexpected NFVIS CLI access.
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-798: Credential and account abuse lookup
Authentication and credential weaknesses can make valid-account abuse and credential telemetry useful review starting points. 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 lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-3446 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20200819 Cisco vWAAS for Cisco ENCS 5400-W Series and CSP 5000-W Series Default Credentials 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.
Use of Hard-coded Credentials
Use of Hard-coded Credentials represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.