CVE-2020-3164
mediumpriority · track · 21EPSS 0.013 · 70 %ileEURUUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-27
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.
remediations
Vendor fix, mitigation, or workaround guidance, as published by each source.
A vendor fix is available.
- FixedCisco Content Security Management Appliance (SMA)cisco_csaf
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability.
https://software.cisco.com - FixedCisco Email Security Appliance (ESA)cisco_csaf
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability.
https://software.cisco.com - FixedCisco Web Security Appliance (WSA)cisco_csaf
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability.
https://software.cisco.com
cvss
Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.
base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode
ssvc
A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.
weaknesses
The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.
affected products (12)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
- cisco content security management appliance< 13.6.0nvdUScpe:2.3:a:cisco:content_security_management_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cisco email security appliance≤ 13.0.0-392nvdUScpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
advisories (1)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- cisco-sa-cont-sec-gui-dos-nJ625dXbCisco ESA, Cisco WSA, and Cisco SMA GUI Denial of Service Vulnerability2020-03-04csaf · cisco_csafUS
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. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability. This advisory is available at the following link: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cont-sec-gui-dos-nJ625dXb ["https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cont-sec-gui-dos-nJ625dXb"]
also known as (4)
Other names and identifiers for this entity.
sources
Which sources assert this record, and when.
references (7)
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- http://www.nsfocus.net/vulndb/47392cnnvd
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3164cnnvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cont-sec-gui-dos-nJ625dXbcnnvd
- https://vigilance.fr/vulnerability/Cisco-AsyncOS-overload-via-HTTP-Request-Headers-31727cnnvd
- https://www.auscert.org.au/bulletins/ESB-2020.0800/cnnvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cont-sec-gui-dos-nJ625dXbenisa_euvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cont-sec-gui-dos-nJ625dXbVendor Advisorynvd
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