Is CVE-2020-3181 being actively exploited?

CVE-2020-3181 is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2020-3181?

CVE-2020-3181 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 (MEDIUM).

CVE-2020-3181

MEDIUM · CVSS 6.5EPSS 1.6%EU EUVD

A vulnerability in the malware detection functionality in Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) in Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliances (ESAs) could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to exhaust resources on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient control over system memory allocation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted email through the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause an email attachment that contains malware to be delivered to a user and cause email processing delays.

Key facts

CVSS score: 6.5 (v3.1)
Severity: MEDIUM
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Weakness (CWE): CWE-400
EPSS score: 1.6% (75th percentile)
In CISA KEV: No
In EU EUVD: Yes (EUVD-2020-24452)
Published: March 4, 2020
NVD last modified: June 17, 2026
Status: Modified

EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD)

This vulnerability is also tracked by ENISA as EUVD-2020-24452 in the EU Vulnerability Database. Last updated in EUVD on November 15, 2024.

View on the EU Vulnerability Database

Affected products

cisco / email security appliance

Certified products that may be affected

4 FIPS 140 or Common Criteria certified products, from automated matching by sec-certs.org.

Cisco Email Security Appliance with AsyncOS 13.0 - Cisco Systems, Inc. - Common Criteria 495-LSS - archived
Cisco Email Security Appliance 9.8 - Cisco Systems, Inc. - Common Criteria CCEVS-VR-VID-10798-2017 - archived
Cisco Email Security Appliance v9.1 - Cisco Systems, Inc. - Common Criteria CCEVS-VR-VID-10631-2015 - archived
IronPort Email Security Appliances (ESA), comprising the C160, C370, X1060, and X1070 appliance models, running IronPort AsyncOS software, version 7.1, and the C670 appliance model running IronPort AsyncOS version 7.3 - Cisco Systems, Inc. - Common Criteria CCEVS-VR-VID-10438-2010 - archived

References

https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-esa-resource-exhaust-D7RQAhnD(Vendor Advisory)

Last updated September 17, 2026 · Source: NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS

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