Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco
CVE-2024-20487
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 web-based management interface of Cisco ISE could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct a stored XSS attack against a user of the interface. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input by the web-based management interface of an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting malicious code into specific pages of the interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary script code in the context of the affected interface or access sensitive, browser-based information. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have at least a low-privileged account 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 confidenceStored XSS vulnerability in Cisco ISE web-based management interface due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker with low-privileged authentication can inject malicious script into specific interface pages, which then executes in the context of other users' browser sessions, potentially exposing sensitive information or enabling further attacks.
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
Identity Services EngineApplication
>= 3.0.0, < 3.1.0= 3.1.0= 3.2.0= 3.3.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Cisco ISE installation and versionAccess the ISE CLI and run the command 'show version' or check the administration node's system information page to retrieve the installed Cisco ISE version.Affected if The displayed version falls within these ranges: >= 3.0.0 and < 3.1.0, or equals 3.1.0, 3.2.0, or 3.3.0.
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Confirm web-based management interface is enabledLog into the Cisco ISE admin portal or check the network configuration to verify that the web-based management interface (admin GUI) is accessible and enabled.Affected if The web management interface is accessible, as this is required for the XSS to be triggered.
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Check for low-privileged user accountsNavigate to Cisco ISE Administration > Identity Management > Identities > Users and review the list of created user accounts to identify any low-privileged accounts that could inject the malicious script.Affected if Low-privileged (read-only or operator-level) user accounts exist in the system, as the CVE states a low-privileged authenticated attacker can inject the payload.
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Inspect interface pages for suspicious stored contentReview key Cisco ISE management pages such as the Sponsor Portal, Employee Portal, or Policy configuration pages for any unexpected or encoded content that could represent injected XSS payloads.Affected if Unexpected script tags, JavaScript URLs, or encoded payloads are found stored in portal configurations, user fields, or policy descriptions.
You are affected if Cisco ISE version 3.0.0 through 3.3.0 is installed, the web management interface is enabled, and low-privileged users have access to the interface where the XSS payload could be stored and executed in other users' sessions.
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.
From vendor data3.1.0
Apply the Cisco ISE patch when released; until then, limit admin privileges, implement strict input sanitization on the management interface, and consider deploying a WAF to filter malicious requests.
Fix this in Identity Services Engine
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-20487 — 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-2024-20487 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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