CVE-2024-20432
📋 TL;DR
An authenticated low-privileged attacker can execute arbitrary CLI commands with network-admin privileges on Cisco NDFC-managed devices via command injection in REST API or web UI. This affects Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller deployments (excluding SAN configurations).
💻 Affected Systems
- Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC)
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of managed network devices, data exfiltration, network disruption, and lateral movement across infrastructure.
Likely Case
Privilege escalation leading to unauthorized configuration changes, network monitoring, or credential harvesting.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation, authentication controls, and input validation are in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires authenticated access but low privilege, with straightforward command injection via crafted inputs.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 12.2.1e or later
Vendor Advisory: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ndfc-cmdinj-UvYZrKfr
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download patch from Cisco Software Center. 2. Backup configuration. 3. Apply patch via NDFC admin interface. 4. Restart NDFC services.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict API Access
allLimit REST API and web UI access to trusted IPs only via firewall rules.
Enforce Strong Authentication
allImplement multi-factor authentication and strict password policies for all NDFC accounts.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate NDFC management network from production traffic.
- Monitor for unusual CLI command execution patterns on managed devices.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check NDFC version via web UI or CLI: show versionCheck Version:
show versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 12.2.1e or later and test API endpoints with malicious inputs.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual CLI commands from NDFC IPs
- Failed authentication attempts followed by API calls
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected outbound connections from NDFC to external hosts
- Anomalous REST API request patterns
SIEM Query:
source="ndfc" AND (command="*" OR user="low-privilege")