CVE-2024-20359

Cisco ASA and FTD Privilege Escalation

6.0 MEDIUMActively exploited (CISA KEV)Public exploitEPSS 19.4%

Published24 Apr 2024
Added to CISA KEV24 Apr 2024
Remediation due1 May 2024

Description

A vulnerability in a legacy capability that allowed for the preloading of VPN clients and plug-ins and that has been available in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary code with root-level privileges. Administrator-level privileges are required to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of a file when it is read from system flash memory. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by copying a crafted file to the disk0: file system of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected device after the next reload of the device, which could alter system behavior. Because the injected code could persist across device reboots, Cisco has raised the Security Impact Rating (SIR) of this advisory from Medium to High.

CVSS 3.1 breakdown

Attack vectorLocal

Attack complexityLow

Privileges requiredHigh

User interactionNone

ScopeUnchanged

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityNone

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Affected products

Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense6.2.3 · 6.2.3.1 · 6.2.3.10 · 6.2.3.11

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software9.12.1 · 9.12.1.2 · 9.12.1.3 · 9.12.2

Remediation

No fixed version is recorded in the NVD data. Check the vendor advisory for the latest guidance.

Patch & vendor advisories

https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asaftd-persist-rce-FLsNXF4h

References

https://blog.talosintelligence.com/arcanedoor-new-espionage-focused-campaign-found-targeting-perimeter-network-devices/ExploitThird Party Advisory
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asaftd-persist-rce-FLsNXF4hVendor Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2024-20359US Government Resource

Related CVEs

Recent high-severity vulnerabilities sharing a weakness type.

Frequently asked

Is CVE-2024-20359 being actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2024-20359 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added 24 Apr 2024.

How severe is CVE-2024-20359?

CVE-2024-20359 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.0, rated medium. EPSS estimates a 19.4% probability of exploitation.

Which products are affected by CVE-2024-20359?

Affected products include Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software.

How do I fix CVE-2024-20359?

Apply the vendor's patch or advisory guidance, then verify no affected versions remain across your devices.

How Secuno handles this

Secuno correlates vulnerabilities like CVE-2024-20359 against the real software inventory on every managed device, as each hourly inventory arrives. Rather than a static severity, each match is scored in context: exploit availability, EPSS, the asset's exposure, and business criticality decide where it lands in the queue. Because it is on the CISA KEV list, a risk for it never ranks below high, and the update that fixes it moves to the Emergency patch lane. If an affected version is present anywhere across your portfolio, it surfaces automatically with a prioritised remediation path.

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Data from the NVD, CISA KEV catalog and FIRST EPSS. CVSS 3.1 base score shown where available.