Nexus Dashboard OrchestratorApplication · Cisco
CVE-2024-20385
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 SSL/TLS implementation of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator (NDO) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to intercept sensitive information from an affected device. This vulnerability exists because the Cisco NDO Validate Peer Certificate site management feature validates the certificates for Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC), Cisco Cloud Network Controller (CNC), and Cisco Nexus Dashboard only when a new site is added or an existing one is reregistered. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using machine-in-the-middle techniques to intercept the traffic between the affected device and Cisco NDO and then using a crafted certificate to impersonate the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to learn sensitive information during communications between these devices.
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 · moderate confidenceThe vulnerability lies in Cisco NDO's Validate Peer Certificate site management feature, which only validates certificates when a new site is added or an existing site is reregistered—not continuously during ongoing communications. An attacker performing machine-in-the-middle (MITM) techniques can intercept traffic between affected devices (APIC, CNC, Nexus Dashboard) and NDO, and use a crafted certificate to impersonate the legitimate device, exposing sensitive information exchanged between them.
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
Nexus Dashboard OrchestratorApplication
< 4.2\(3o\)>= 4.3.0, < 4.4\(1.1009\)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
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 Cisco NDO versionLocate the installed version of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator in the product interface or system documentation. This is typically found in the Admin section or about page.Affected if The installed version is earlier than 4.2(3o), or falls between 4.3.0 and 4.4(1.1009) inclusive.
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Verify Validate Peer Certificate feature statusAccess the NDO site management configuration settings and check whether the Validate Peer Certificate option is enabled for site connections.Affected if The Validate Peer Certificate feature is turned on for site management operations.
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Review recent site registration activityExamine the NDO audit logs or site management history for any site additions or reregistrations that have occurred.Affected if New sites were added or existing sites were reregistered after the NDO was deployed.
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Inspect managed device communicationsReview the network paths and communication logs between NDO and managed devices (APIC, CNC, Nexus Dashboard) to confirm they traverse the expected infrastructure.Affected if Traffic between NDO and managed devices crosses network segments where a MITM attack could be plausible.
You are affected if your NDO version is below 4.2(3o), between 4.3.0 and 4.4(1.1009), and you have the Validate Peer Certificate feature enabled with sites that have been added or reregistered.
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 · scoped4.24.4
Apply the Cisco patch when available; until then, minimize exposure by ensuring NDO and managed devices communicate over trusted networks and monitoring for suspicious certificate behavior during site registrations.
4.2(3o) or later in 4.2.x series; 4.4(1.1009) or later in 4.4.x series
- 1. Identify the current version of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator by accessing the NDO admin interface or using the CLI command to display the version.
- 2. If the current version is < 4.2(3o) in the 4.2.x train, plan to upgrade to 4.2(3o) or later.
- 3. If the current version is >= 4.3.0 and < 4.4(1.1009), plan to upgrade to 4.4(1.1009) or later.
- 4. Review Cisco's upgrade documentation and release notes for NDO to understand upgrade prerequisites and procedures.
- 5. Perform a backup of the NDO configuration before initiating the upgrade.
- 6. Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades may require downtime.
- 7. Execute the upgrade following Cisco's recommended upgrade path for your specific version.
- 8. After upgrade, verify the new version is installed and validate that the certificate validation is now functioning properly for site management operations.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Nexus Dashboard 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-2024-20385 — 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-2024-20385 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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