Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cisco DCNM has an authenticated SQL injection flaw in its web management interface. A logged-in remote attacker could use crafted requests to read or change sensitive database information. The source bundle rates it medium severity with CVSS 6.3.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority infrastructure management risk. It is not documented as actively exploited here, but DCNM can hold sensitive network operations data, so exposed or broadly accessible instances should be reviewed promptly.
Technical view
CVE-2020-3462 is CWE-89 in Cisco Data Center Network Manager. Improper validation of user-submitted parameters in the web interface enables authenticated remote SQL injection with low privileges and no user interaction. Potential impact is limited confidentiality, integrity, and availability loss.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations running Cisco Data Center Network Manager with the web-based management interface reachable to authenticated users. The bundle does not identify affected versions or CPEs, so version-specific exposure must be confirmed against Cisco guidance.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. Exploitation requires authentication, network access to the DCNM web interface, and malicious requests to vulnerable parameters.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports authenticated remote SQL injection with low attack complexity and low privileges. The bundle lacks fixed versions, affected version ranges, and exploit telemetry. Avoid assuming unauthenticated impact or active exploitation without additional vendor or KEV evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco's advisory for affected and fixed DCNM releases.
- Upgrade or remediate according to Cisco's vendor guidance.
- Restrict DCNM management interface access to trusted administrative networks.
- Enforce least-privilege accounts for DCNM users.
- Monitor for unusual authenticated activity against DCNM web endpoints.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all Cisco DCNM deployments and exposed management interfaces.
- Confirm installed DCNM versions against Cisco's advisory.
- Review DCNM authentication and administrative role assignments.
- Check logs for unusual authenticated web requests or database-related errors.
- Assess whether sensitive DCNM database records may have changed unexpectedly.
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-89: Database access and collection lookup
Injection into data stores can inform collection, data access, and exfiltration detection reviews. 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 lookupDatabase behavior lookup
The CVE wording references database injection or access, so collection and exfiltration review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-3462 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
- 6.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L2.83.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20200729 Cisco Data Center Network Manager SQL 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 an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.