CVE-2024-20399
Description
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
Summary dbcve.org
This is a command injection vulnerability in Cisco NX-OS Software CLI where insufficient validation of arguments passed to specific configuration CLI commands allows an authenticated Administrator to execute arbitrary root commands on the underlying OS by including crafted input as command arguments.
Mitigation
Apply the Cisco-provided patch/firmware update for NX-OS when available. Until then, restrict Administrator access to trusted personnel only and monitor for suspicious CLI usage patterns.