RCE in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2024-20359
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.
Vulnerability class: RCE (Remote Code Execution)
EPSS: 0.194 (97.2th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 6.0 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
Affected products
- Cisco Adaptive_security_appliance_software — versions 9.8.1, 9.8.1.5, 9.8.1.7
- Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (Asa) Software — versions 9.8.1, 9.8.1.5, 9.8.1.7
- Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software — versions 6.2.3, 6.2.3.1, 6.2.3.2
- Cisco Firepower_threat_defense — versions 6.2.3, 6.2.3.1, 6.2.3.2
- Cisco Secure_firewall_threat_defense — versions 6.2.3, 6.2.3.1, 6.2.3.2
Weakness classification (CWE)
CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)
This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on . CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.
BOD 22-01 due date: .
Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- psirt@cisco.com (Vendor Advisory)
- 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
- 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2024-20359?
- CVE-2024-20359 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, classified under Code Injection. CVSS score: 6.0/10. Published 2024-04-24.
- How severe is CVE-2024-20359?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.0 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2024-20359 known to be exploited?
- Yes. CVE-2024-20359 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2024-04-24), indicating it is being actively exploited. 5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.