CVE DATABASE / CVE-2024-20399
CVE-2024-20399
Cisco NX-OS Command Injection Vulnerability
Confirmed exploited in the wild. Added 2024-07-02.
Federal remediation due 2024-07-23.
Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Summary
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
CVSS 3.1 breakdown
| Base score | 6 (MEDIUM) |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N |
| Attack vector | LOCAL |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | HIGH |
| User interaction | NONE |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | HIGH |
| Integrity | HIGH |
| Availability | NONE |
Weakness type (CWE)
Affected products
Use our free CVE Lookup tool for the latest NVD record, or browse the full CISA KEV catalog.
References
- https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-nxos-cmd-injection-xD9OhyOP
- https://www.sygnia.co/threat-reports-and-advisories/china-nexus-threat-group-velvet-ant-exploits-cisco-0-day/
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2024-20399
Data: NIST NVD + CISA KEV. NVD last modified 2025-10-28. Always verify against the vendor advisory before acting.