CVE-2020-3253

Root command execution via misconfigured support tunnel

Published May 6, 2020 · Updated Nov 15, 2024

Improper access control in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense before 6.5.0 allows local users with administrative access to execute commands as root. The support tunnel remains usable when expert mode is disabled and derives a tunnel password from an operator-set key without enforcing the intended shell restriction. Administrative device access is required to enable the tunnel and set the key; successful exploitation grants unrestricted root command execution.

CVSS severity6.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.30%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper access control in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense before 6.5.0 allows local users with administrative access to execute commands as root. The support tunnel remains usable when expert mode is disabled and derives a tunnel password from an operator-set key without enforcing the intended shell restriction. Administrative device access is required to enable the tunnel and set the key; successful exploitation grants unrestricted root command execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-3253
Published
May 6, 2020
Updated
Nov 15, 2024
Vendor
ClamAV
Product
Cisco Firepower Threat Defense
Classifications
CWE-284, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 6, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 15, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=n/a

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

ClamAV · Cisco Firepower Threat Defenseversion=n/a

Published CVSS scores

7.2NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
6.7Cisco Systems, Inc.CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.7NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-284Improper Access Control
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo