Nexus Dashboard Fabric ControllerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2024-20444
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 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC), formerly Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM), could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with network-admin privileges to perform a command injection attack against an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of command arguments. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting crafted command arguments to a specific REST API endpoint. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to overwrite sensitive files or crash a specific container, which would restart on its own, causing a low-impact denial of service (DoS) condition.
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 confidenceThis is a command injection vulnerability in Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller's REST API. An authenticated attacker with network-admin privileges can submit crafted command arguments to a specific API endpoint that lacks proper input validation. This allows the attacker to execute arbitrary commands, potentially overwriting sensitive files or causing container crashes resulting in a low-impact DoS condition.
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 Fabric ControllerApplication
< 12.2.2CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L
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 Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller versionAccess the controller's admin interface or use the API/CLI to retrieve the installed version number. Compare it against the affected range: any version below 12.2.2 is vulnerable.Affected if Installed version is below 12.2.2
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Confirm REST API accessibilityDetermine if the REST API endpoint is exposed to network access. Check the controller's network configuration and firewall rules to see if the API port is reachable from untrusted networks.Affected if REST API is accessible from untrusted networks
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Review administrative user accountsList all user accounts with network-admin privileges in the controller. Check for any unauthorized or unexpected admin accounts.Affected if There are untrusted or unauthorized users with network-admin privileges
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Inspect API access logs for suspicious patternsReview the controller's API access logs and audit trails for requests containing unusual characters, shell metacharacters, or unexpected command arguments to the REST API endpoint.Affected if Logs show API requests with suspicious command-like arguments or unusual patterns
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Check for evidence of command executionExamine system logs, process lists, and file system for signs of unexpected command execution or unauthorized file modifications, particularly in directories accessible by the API service account.Affected if Unexpected commands have been executed or sensitive files have been modified unexpectedly
You are affected if the installed Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller version is below 12.2.2 and the REST API is accessible to authenticated users with network-admin privileges.
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 · scoped12.2.2
Apply Cisco's official patch when available. As a workaround, restrict access to the affected REST API endpoint to only trusted administrative users and monitor for unusual API request patterns.
12.2.2 or later
- 1. Identify the current version of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller by accessing the administration settings or running 'show version' via CLI
- 2. Create a full backup of the NDFC configuration and any critical data
- 3. Download the Cisco NDFC version 12.2.2 or later from the Cisco Software Download center
- 4. Follow Cisco's upgrade documentation to install the new version, typically via the NDFC web interface under Administration > Software Update
- 5. After upgrade, verify the new version is installed by checking System > About in the web interface
- 6. Confirm the REST API endpoint functionality is restored and validate that command injection is no longer possible
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-20444 — 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-2024-20444 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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