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Nx Os CVE-2020-3165

HIGH
Use of Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798)
2020-02-26 psirt@cisco.com
8.2
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Credential externalization
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Persistence, Credential Access

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 8.2 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could gain access using credentials embedded in source code by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 1.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

A vulnerability in the implementation of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Message Digest 5 (MD5) authentication in Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass MD5. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Remove hard-coded credentials, use environment variables or secrets management, rotate exposed credentials immediately.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Use of Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798), which allows attackers to gain access using credentials embedded in source code. A vulnerability in the implementation of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Message Digest 5 (MD5) authentication in Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass MD5 authentication and establish a BGP connection with the device. The vulnerability occurs because the BGP MD5 authentication is bypassed if the peer does not have MD5 authentication configured, the NX-OS device does have BGP MD5 authentication configured, and the NX-OS BGP virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) name is configured to be greater than 19 characters. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by attempting to establish a BGP session with the NX-OS peer. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to establish a BGP session with the NX-OS device without MD5 authentication. The Cisco implementation of the BGP protocol accepts incoming BGP traffic only from explicitly configured peers. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must send the malicious packets over a TCP connection that appears to come from a trusted BGP peer. To do so, the attacker must obtain information about the BGP peers in the affected system’s trusted network. Affected products include: Cisco Nx-Os.

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.2 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
None

DescriptionNVD

A vulnerability in the implementation of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Message Digest 5 (MD5) authentication in Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass MD5 authentication and establish a BGP connection with the device. The vulnerability occurs because the BGP MD5 authentication is bypassed if the peer does not have MD5 authentication configured, the NX-OS device does have BGP MD5 authentication configured, and the NX-OS BGP virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) name is configured to be greater than 19 characters. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by attempting to establish a BGP session with the NX-OS peer. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to establish a BGP session with the NX-OS device without MD5 authentication. The Cisco implementation of the BGP protocol accepts incoming BGP traffic only from explicitly configured peers. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must send the malicious packets over a TCP connection that appears to come from a trusted BGP peer. To do so, the attacker must obtain information about the BGP peers in the affected system’s trusted network.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.3%
Top 33% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 1.3%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

42
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +41
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:9.2\(1\):*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:9.2\(2\):*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:9.2\(3\):*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:9.3\(1\):*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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