CVE-2020-3218: Cisco IOS XE

High severity, CVSS 7.2. EPSS: 4.9% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

A vulnerability in the web UI of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with administrative privileges to execute arbitrary code with root privileges on the underlying Linux shell. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by first creating a malicious file on the affected device itself and then uploading a second malicious file to the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with root privileges or bypass licensing requirements on the device.

Affected products

• Cisco IOS XE: version 16.6.1 only; version 16.6.2 only; version 16.6.3 only; version 16.6.4 only; version 16.6.4a only; version 16.6.4s only; …

Published 2020-06-03. Last modified 2026-06-17.