CVE-2020-3512 | Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software PROFINET Link Layer Discovery Protocol Denial of Service Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the PROFINET handler for Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) messages of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a crash on an affected device, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of LLDP messages in the PROFINET LLDP message handler. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious LLDP message to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload.

Published: 2020-09-24 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2020-3512 is rated Moderate Risk (41.7/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.42%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-3512

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.05% 0.42% +0.37%
2 2023-03-07 0.89% 0.05% -0.83%
3 2022-04-01 — 0.89% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-3512

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.4 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:A)
Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 4.0 [email protected]
7.4 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:A)
Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 4.0 [email protected]
5.7 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:A/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:A)
Requires access to an adjacent network segment.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 5.5 6.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-3512

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-3512

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco ios_xe 15.2\(7\)e cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.2\(7\)e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-3512

cvelogic Threat Intelligence