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CVE Record

CVE-2020-3565: Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software TCP Intercept Bypass Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the TCP Intercept functionality of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass configured Access Control Policies (including Geolocation) and Service Polices on an affected system. The vulnerability exists because TCP Intercept is invoked when the embryonic connection limit is reached, which can cause the underlying detection engine to process the packet incorrectly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted stream of traffic that matches a policy on which TCP Intercept is configured. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to match on an incorrect policy, which could allow the traffic to be forwarded when it should be dropped. In addition, the traffic could incorrectly be dropped.

MediumCVSS 5.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-3565 can make Cisco Firepower Threat Defense forward traffic that policy should have blocked, or drop traffic that should pass. The issue affects TCP Intercept policy handling, so business risk is mainly policy enforcement failure at a network security control.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate firewall-control integrity issue. Prioritize confirmation on perimeter or segmentation FTD devices because failed policy enforcement can undermine access restrictions without requiring authentication.

Technical view

The vulnerability is in Cisco FTD TCP Intercept processing when the embryonic connection limit is reached. Crafted traffic matching a TCP Intercept-enabled policy can cause incorrect detection engine policy matching, bypassing Access Control, Geolocation, or Service Policy decisions.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to Cisco Firepower Threat Defense deployments using TCP Intercept-related policy behavior. The provided bundle does not identify affected version ranges, so teams must confirm scope against Cisco’s advisory and local configurations.

Exploitation context

The source bundle describes unauthenticated remote exploitation with low attack complexity. It does not provide evidence of active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked as CISA KEV in the provided data.

Researcher notes

Key missing evidence is affected version detail in the provided bundle. Research should focus on TCP Intercept configuration, embryonic connection limits, and policy paths where incorrect detection-engine matching changes allow or drop outcomes.

Mitigation direction

  • Review Cisco’s advisory for affected releases and vendor-recommended fixes.
  • Inventory Cisco FTD systems and prioritize internet-facing or boundary enforcement devices.
  • Validate policies that rely on TCP Intercept, Geolocation, or Service Policy enforcement.
  • Monitor Cisco PSIRT updates for fixed versions or operational workarounds.

Validation and detection

  • Identify Cisco Firepower Threat Defense deployments in production.
  • Check whether TCP Intercept is configured on access-control or service policies.
  • Compare running FTD versions against Cisco’s advisory.
  • Review logs for unexpected allowed or dropped traffic around protected policies.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
3

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 · medium confidence lookup

CWE-284: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup

Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-3565 mapping review

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

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N

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
5.8CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N3.91.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

5.8Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2020-3565Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N

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 Firepower Threat Defense Softwaren/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

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

CWE-284 · source CWE mapping

Improper Access Control

Improper Access Control represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.