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CVE-2020-3164

5.3 · MEDIUM

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA), Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA), and Cisco Content Security Management Appliance…

Published Mar 4, 2020CWE-20EPSS 1.28%

Overview

CVE-2020-3164 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on March 4, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.3 (MEDIUM).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.3, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA), Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA), and Cisco Content Security Management Appliance (SMA) could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause high CPU usage on an affected device, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of specific HTTP request headers. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malformed HTTP request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to trigger a prolonged status of high CPU utilization relative to the GUI process(es). Upon successful exploitation of this vulnerability, an affected device will still be operative, but its response time and overall performance may be degraded.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-3164?

CVE-2020-3164 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on March 4, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.3 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2020-3164?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.3, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2020-3164?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2020-3164?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2020-3164 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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