dbcve.org
Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication · Cisco

CVE-2024-20431

MEDIUM · 5.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 geolocation access control feature of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass an access control policy. This vulnerability is due to improper assignment of geolocation data. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending traffic through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass a geolocation-based access control policy and successfully send traffic to a protected 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 · moderate confidence

Cisco FTD geolocation access control feature has a vulnerability where geolocation data is improperly assigned, allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker to bypass geolocation-based access control policies by sending specially crafted traffic through the affected device.

MitigationApply the Cisco security update for CVE-2024-20431 to the affected FTD software version; verify geolocation access control policies are functioning correctly after the update.

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
Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication
Affected:= 7.0.0= 7.0.0.1= 7.0.1= 7.0.1.1= 7.0.2= 7.0.2.1= 7.0.3= 7.0.4= 7.0.5= 7.0.6= 7.0.6.1= 7.1.0

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

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

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

  1. Identify FTD software version
    Run 'show version' or 'show system install summary' from the FTD CLI (via FMC or directly on FTD) to retrieve the installed version number
    Affected if The installed version matches any of: 7.0.0, 7.0.0.1, 7.0.1, 7.0.1.1, 7.0.2, 7.0.2.1, 7.0.3, 7.0.4, 7.0.5, 7.0.6, 7.0.6.1, or 7.1.0
  2. Verify geolocation access control is in use
    Access Firepower Management Center (FMC) and navigate to Policies > Access Control, or run 'show policy-map' on FTD CLI, to check if any access control policies have geolocation-based rules configured
    Affected if Geolocation-based access control rules or policies are defined and active on the device
  3. Inspect geolocation object configuration
    In FMC, go to Objects > Geolocation, or run 'show running-config | include geo' on FTD CLI, to review configured geolocation objects and their assigned countries/regions
    Affected if Geolocation objects are configured and associated with access control rules
  4. Check for traffic pattern anomalies
    Review FTD connection logs and security events via FMC (Analysis > Connections > Events) or run 'show connection' for unusual connection patterns that may indicate geolocation bypass
    Affected if Traffic from unexpected geolocations is being permitted despite geolocation-based deny rules

You are affected if your Cisco FTD runs version 7.0.0 through 7.1.0 and has geolocation access control policies configured, as the vulnerability allows bypass of these policies.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Cisco security update for CVE-2024-20431 to the affected FTD software version; verify geolocation access control policies are functioning correctly after the update.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

FTD 7.0.2 or later in the 7.0.x branch

  1. 1. Identify the current FTD version by navigating to System > Updates in the FTD management interface or running 'show version' via CLI
  2. 2. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade as FTD upgrades typically require a brief downtime
  3. 3. Download the fixed FTD software image (7.0.2 or later) from Cisco's Software Download center
  4. 4. Upload the new image to the FTD device via the management interface or SCP
  5. 5. Initiate the upgrade process via System > Updates > Install ISE or via CLI with 'upgrade add filename <image>' and 'upgrade install'
  6. 6. Verify successful upgrade by confirming the new version in 'show version' output
  7. 7. Verify the geolocation access control policy functions correctly after upgrade
Caveat Standard upgrade precautions apply - test in staging environment first, ensure backups of configuration exist, and plan for brief downtime

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Secure Firewall Threat Defense 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
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-20431 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-20431 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data