CVE-2020-3161

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A vulnerability in the web server for Cisco IP Phones could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute code with root privileges or cause a reload of an affected IP phone, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to a lack of proper input validation of HTTP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to the web server of a targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to remotely execute code with root privileges or cause a reload of an affected IP phone, resulting in a DoS condition.

CVSS 9.8 (CRITICAL) KEV: KNOWN CATALOG

Attention and evidence

HYPE SCORE

0.0/10

REALITY · THREAT PRIORITY

8.9/10

General review priority; not probability

Evidence confidence: Exploitation recorded

Why this priority?

Recorded exploitation baseline: +7.00
Technical severity: CVSS 9.8: +1.47
Fresh EPSS: 83.86%: +0.42

General review priority, not probability, victim count or asset-specific risk. A range covers missing CVSS/EPSS inputs within the current evidence state.

Sources: 1 documents and public datasets.

Hype components

Headline sample (25%)

0/100

Press, 30 days (60%)

0/100

Grounded branding (15%)

0/100

HYPE TOTAL0/100

Sources and documents

Help Net Security

Press · 16 Apr 2020, 07:00 · Using Cisco IP phones? Fix these critical vulnerabilities - Help Net Security

Score evolution

● Hype ● Reality

Earlier evidence-support scores are retained in history; this chart shows only the current priority definition.

First record: hype 0.0 · reality 8.9 (2026-11-02 15:12). The curve appears once the score changes.

Public exploit evidence

Public exploit entries / repo candidates

See 1 repos with metrics

Repository	Stars	Forks	Language	Updated
abood05972/CVE-2020-3161	0	0	—	30 Dec 2020, 23:32

Public exploit evidence

exploitdb #48342 2020-04-17

Evidence context and dated references

Reality is general threat/review priority, combining observed exploitation, CVSS severity and fresh EPSS. Evidence confidence is separate. This is not calibrated risk, a victim count or an asset-specific assessment. A range reflects missing numeric inputs.

Evidence in context

Confidence in exploitation evidence: Exploitation recorded
Priority basis: Recorded exploitation; CVSS 9.8; EPSS 83.9%
Attention, last 30 days: 0 distinct story titles; 0 press documents; 0 publisher domains.
Technical potential: network access, no prior privileges, no user interaction.
Observed activity: Exploitation recorded in CISA KEV.
Known scale: Not quantified.
Evidence confidence basis: Trusted exploitation confirmation

Score evaluated: 2026-11-05 13:58:17.488851+00:00 · EPSS snapshot: 2026-11-05T12:03:04Z

Source event timeline

Published

15 Apr 2020, 20:10

First press mention

16 Apr 2020, 07:00

Latest press mention

16 Apr 2020, 07:00

Added to the CISA KEV catalog

03 Nov 2021, 00:00

Score calculated

05 Nov 2026, 13:58

PoCs on GitHub

1 repositories