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OS Command InjectionWeakness · CWE-78

CVE-2024-20295

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-24
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Zero-click

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 · unedited
A vulnerability in the CLI of the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform command injection attacks on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have read-only or higher privileges on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted CLI command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root.

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 confidence

A command injection vulnerability in the Cisco IMC CLI allows authenticated attackers with read-only or higher privileges to inject arbitrary OS commands by submitting crafted CLI input, due to insufficient validation of user-supplied parameters. Successful exploitation grants root privileges on the underlying operating system.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Cisco for CVE-2024-20295; until then, limit CLI access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious command patterns.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if Cisco IMC is present
    Check if the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) is running on the system. This is typically found on Cisco UCS C-Series servers, Cisco UCS S-Series storage servers, or Cisco UCS servers. Look for IMC web interface at https://<ip> or check system documentation for IMC presence.
    Affected if Cisco IMC software is installed and running on the system.
  2. Determine the Cisco IMC version
    Log into the IMC CLI or web interface and locate the version information. In the CLI, you can typically run 'show version' or 'scope imc'. Through the web UI, check the Admin tab or About section for the IMC firmware version.
    Affected if The installed version falls within the vulnerable range (check Cisco advisory for specific affected versions).
  3. Verify CLI access is enabled
    Confirm that the Cisco IMC CLI interface is accessible. This is typically enabled by default on IMC. Check if TCP port 22 (SSH) or port 80/443 (web CLI) is open and responding on the IMC management IP.
    Affected if CLI access is enabled and reachable over the network.
  4. Check for existing user accounts with read-only or higher privileges
    Review user accounts configured in Cisco IMC. Use the CLI command 'scope security' then 'show user-detail' or check the Users section in the web UI. Note any accounts with read-only, admin, or user-level privileges.
    Affected if There are one or more user accounts with read-only, user, or administrator privileges configured in IMC.
  5. Audit recent CLI command activity
    Review IMC CLI audit logs or system logs for any suspicious or unexpected commands. Look for commands containing shell metacharacters (such as ;, |, &, $(), ``) that may indicate exploitation attempts. Use 'scope logging' and 'show log' commands in IMC CLI.
    Affected if Unusual CLI commands or shell metacharacters appear in the logs, suggesting possible command injection.

A system is affected if Cisco IMC is running with a version within the vulnerable range and the CLI interface is accessible to authenticated users with read-only or higher privileges.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Cisco for CVE-2024-20295; until then, limit CLI access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious command patterns.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-20295 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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