CVE-2020-3473: Cisco IOS XR Software Authenticated User Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2020-09-04 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-264

Description

A vulnerability in task group assignment for a specific CLI command in Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local CLI shell user to elevate privileges and gain full administrative control of the device. The vulnerability is due to incorrect mapping of a command to task groups within the source code. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by first authenticating to the local CLI shell on the device and using the CLI command to bypass the task group–based checks. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges and perform actions on the device without authorization checks.

Affected products

Cisco IOS XR Software: from 5.0.0 before 7.0.12; from 7.1.0 before 7.2.1; from 5.0.0 before 6.6.3; from 7.0.0 before 7.0.2; from 7.1.0 before 7.1.1; from 5.0.0 before 6.5.29 — fixed in 6.5.29, 6.6.3, 7.0.12, 7.0.2, 7.1.1, 7.2.1

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Cisco IOS XR Software 6.5.29, 6.6.3, 7.0.12, 7.0.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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