Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cisco DCNM had a missing-authentication flaw in its web management interface that could let a remote unauthenticated attacker read confidential information. The public bundle rates it medium, not critical, because it affects confidentiality only and at low impact.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority management-plane exposure issue. Prioritize any DCNM instance reachable from untrusted networks, because attackers would not need credentials to obtain sensitive information.
Technical view
CVE-2020-3461 is a CWE-306 issue in Cisco Data Center Network Manager. The vulnerable web-based management interface lacked authentication on a specific component, enabling crafted remote requests to obtain confidential information. CVSS v3.0 is 5.3: network, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, low confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant where Cisco DCNM web management interfaces are reachable by untrusted networks. The bundle does not identify affected versions, deployment modes, or internet exposure prevalence.
Exploitation context
The source bundle states remote unauthenticated exploitation is possible, but provides no evidence of active exploitation. CISA KEV status is false in the provided data.
Researcher notes
The bundle lacks affected version detail and patch text, so analysis should stay tied to Cisco's advisory. Key facts are CWE-306, CVSS 5.3, unauthenticated remote access, confidentiality-only impact, and no KEV-listed exploitation.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco's advisory for affected releases and fixed software guidance.
- Restrict DCNM management access to trusted administrative networks or VPN paths.
- Remove direct internet exposure for DCNM web management interfaces.
- Monitor management-interface logs for unusual unauthenticated access attempts.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco DCNM deployments and owners.
- Identify where DCNM web management interfaces are reachable from.
- Compare installed DCNM versions against Cisco advisory guidance.
- Confirm authentication is required before management data is exposed.
- Document compensating access controls around each DCNM instance.
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-306: 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 lookupCVE-2020-3461 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
- 5.3 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N3.91.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20200729 Cisco Data Center Network Manager Information Disclosure 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.
Missing Authentication for Critical Function
Missing Authentication for Critical Function represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.