CVE-2024-20275
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA vulnerability in the cluster backup feature of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software, formerly Firepower Management Center Software, could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user data that is supplied through the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need valid credentials for a user account with at least the role of Network Administrator. In addition, the attacker would need to persuade a legitimate user to initiate a cluster backup on the affected device.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceCommand injection vulnerability in the cluster backup feature of Cisco Secure FMC. An authenticated attacker with Network Administrator role can inject arbitrary OS commands through crafted HTTP requests by tricking a legitimate user to initiate a cluster backup.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 7.1.0= 7.1.0.1= 7.1.0.2= 7.1.0.3= 7.2.0= 7.2.0.1= 7.2.1= 7.2.2= 7.2.3= 7.2.3.1= 7.2.4= 7.2.4.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify FMC versionLog into the Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center web interface and navigate to System > About > Updates, or run 'show version' via CLI to determine the installed software versionAffected if The installed version matches any of these: 7.1.0, 7.1.0.1, 7.1.0.2, 7.1.0.3, 7.2.0, 7.2.0.1, 7.2.1, 7.2.2, 7.2.3, 7.2.3.1, 7.2.4, 7.2.4.1
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Verify cluster backup feature is configuredIn the FMC web interface, navigate to System > Logs > Backup or System > Configuration > Backup/Restore to check if any cluster backup jobs are defined or scheduledAffected if Cluster backup configurations exist and are active on the FMC device
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Review user accounts with Network Administrator roleIn the FMC web interface, go to System > Users > Users and Roles, or use the CLI command 'show user' to list all users and their assigned rolesAffected if There are any user accounts assigned the Network Administrator role
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Inspect HTTP traffic logs for backup operationsReview FMC logs in System > Logs > Audit or external syslog records for HTTP requests to backup-related endpoints, looking for unusual parameters or unexpected backup triggersAffected if Audit logs show anomalous backup HTTP requests with unexpected command parameters or unusually frequent backup operations
You are affected if FMC runs any of the listed versions AND cluster backup is enabled AND at least one user has Network Administrator role, making command injection possible.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply Cisco's available security patches for FMC. Review user privileges and restrict Network Administrator role assignments. Monitor for anomalous backup-related HTTP requests.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-20275 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-20275 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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