Network Services OrchestratorApplication · Cisco
CVE-2024-20366
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 Tail-f High Availability Cluster Communications (HCC) function pack of Cisco Crosswork Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges to root on an affected device. This vulnerability exists because a user-controlled search path is used to locate executable files. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by configuring the application in a way that causes a malicious file to be executed. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on an affected device as the root user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need valid credentials on an 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 confidenceThis is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco NSO's Tail-f HCC function pack where the application uses a user-controlled search path to locate executable files. An authenticated local attacker with valid credentials can manipulate this search path to cause a malicious executable to be loaded and executed with root privileges, achieving arbitrary code execution as the root user.
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
Network Services OrchestratorApplication
>= 5.0, < 5.0.5>= 6.0, < 6.0.2CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Cisco NSO installed versionRun 'ncs --version' or check the package metadata in /opt/ncs/VERSION or /etc/ncs/ns-*.info to determine the exact version installed.Affected if The installed version is >= 5.0 and < 5.0.5, or >= 6.0 and < 6.0.2.
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Locate Tail-f HCC function pack componentsSearch for HCC-related files: look for directories named 'hcc', 'tailf-hcc', or packages containing 'hcc' in the Cisco NSO installation path, typically under /var/opt/ncs/packages/ or /opt/ncs/packages/.Affected if The HCC function pack is installed on the system.
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Verify HCC function pack is enabledCheck the Cisco NSO configuration for loaded packages: run 'ncs_cli -u admin' then 'show packages' or inspect the packages.xml file in the NSO configuration directory.Affected if The HCC function pack appears in the list of loaded/enabled packages.
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Inspect HCC directory permissions and integrityReview file permissions on the HCC package directory: use 'ls -la' to check ownership and permissions, and verify file hashes against expected values if available.Affected if The HCC directory or its executables are writable by non-root users, or files have been modified from their original state.
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Examine process environment for HCC-related PATH manipulationReview the PATH environment variable used by the NSO process and check for any user-controlled PATH entries pointing to HCC or writable directories. Run 'ps aux | grep ncs' to find the NSO process, then check /proc/<pid>/environ.Affected if The PATH variable includes directories that could be controlled by an authenticated attacker.
A system is affected if Cisco NSO version is 5.0 through 5.0.4 or 6.0 through 6.0.1 AND the Tail-f HCC function pack is installed and enabled.
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.
dbcve · scoped5.0.56.0.2
Apply the vendor patch from Cisco when available; in the interim, strictly limit access to device credentials and restrict configuration rights for the HCC function pack to trusted administrators only.
Upgrade to Cisco NSO 5.0.5 (for 5.x releases) or 6.0.2 (for 6.x releases)
- Verify current installed version of Cisco Crosswork Network Services Orchestrator using 'ncs --version' or through the NSO CLI
- Review the Cisco NSO upgrade guide for your current major version (5.x or 6.x) at Cisco.com to understand prerequisites
- Ensure you have valid backup of NSO configuration and data before upgrading
- Download the appropriate fixed release: upgrade to 5.0.5 if running 5.0.x, or upgrade to 6.0.2 if running 6.0.x
- Perform the upgrade following Cisco's standard NSO upgrade procedures, which typically involves stopping NSO services, running the installer, and restarting services
- After upgrade, verify the new version is running and confirm the HCC function pack is updated
- Validate that the Tail-f HCC service starts successfully and review logs for any errors
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Network Services Orchestrator
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,152.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-20366 — 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-2024-20366 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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