CVE-2024-20399
Published on July 1, 2024

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated user in possession of Administrator credentials to execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of arguments that are passed to specific configuration CLI commands. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by including crafted input as the argument of an affected configuration CLI command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with the privileges of root. Note: To successfully exploit this vulnerability on a Cisco NX-OS device, an attacker must have Administrator credentials. The following Cisco devices already allow administrative users to access the underlying operating system through the bash-shell feature, so, for these devices, this vulnerability does not grant any additional privileges: Nexus 3000 Series Switches Nexus 7000 Series Switches that are running Cisco NX-OS Software releases 8.1(1) and later Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode

Vendor Advisory Vendor Advisory NVD

Known Exploited Vulnerability

This Cisco NX-OS Command Injection Vulnerability is part of CISA's list of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities. Cisco NX-OS contains a command injection vulnerability in the command line interface (CLI) that could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute commands as root on the underlying operating system of an affected device.

The following remediation steps are recommended / required by July 23, 2024: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2024-20399 can be exploited with local system access, and requires user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. It has an exploitability score of 0.8 out of four. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be very high.

What is a Shell injection Vulnerability?

The software constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.

CVE-2024-20399 has been classified to as a Shell injection vulnerability or weakness.

Products Associated with CVE-2024-20399

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What versions are vulnerable to CVE-2024-20399?