CVE-2020-3524
6.8 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2020-3524 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting cisco ios_xe_rom_monitor. It was published on September 24, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.8 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.8, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
A vulnerability in the Cisco IOS XE ROM Monitor (ROMMON) Software for Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers, Cisco ASR 920 Series Aggregation Services Routers, Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers, and Cisco cBR-8 Converged Broadband Routers could allow an unauthenticated, physical attacker to break the chain of trust and load a compromised software image on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to the presence of a debugging configuration option in the affected software. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to an affected device through the console, forcing the device into ROMMON mode, and writing a malicious pattern using that specific option on the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to break the chain of trust and load a compromised software image on the affected device. A compromised software image is any software image that has not been digitally signed by Cisco.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from cisco. Update ios_xe_rom_monitor to the latest patched version. 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.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| cisco | ios_xe_rom_monitor | >= 0, < 16.2\(1r\) | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2020-3524?
CVE-2020-3524 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting cisco ios_xe_rom_monitor. It was published on September 24, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.8 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2020-3524?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.8, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2020-3524?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from cisco. Update ios_xe_rom_monitor to the latest patched version. 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-2020-3524?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2020-3524 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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