dbcve.org
Meraki Mx65 FirmwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2024-20501

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.211.2 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Multiple vulnerabilities in the Cisco AnyConnect VPN server of Cisco Meraki MX and Cisco Meraki Z Series Teleworker Gateway devices could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a DoS condition in the AnyConnect service on an affected device. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient validation of client-supplied parameters while establishing an SSL VPN session. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending a crafted HTTPS request to the VPN server of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Cisco AnyConnect VPN server to restart, resulting in the failure of the established SSL VPN connections and forcing remote users to initiate a new VPN connection and reauthenticate. A sustained attack could prevent new SSL VPN connections from being established. Note: When the attack traffic stops, the Cisco AnyConnect VPN server recovers gracefully without requiring manual intervention.

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

This is a denial-of-service vulnerability in the Cisco AnyConnect VPN server component of Meraki MX and Z Series Teleworker Gateway devices. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of client-supplied parameters during SSL VPN session establishment. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send crafted HTTPS requests to the VPN server, causing the AnyConnect service to restart and break existing connections.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided security patch or firmware update from Cisco Meraki. If no patch is immediately available, consider restricting VPN access via firewall rules to limit exposure to trusted networks, and monitor for anomalous HTTPS traffic patterns targeting the VPN endpoint.

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
Meraki Mx65 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 17.6.0, < 18.211.2
Meraki Mx64 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 17.6.0, <= 18.211.2
Meraki Z4c FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 16.2, < 18.211.2
Meraki Z4 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 16.2, < 18.211.2
Meraki Z3c FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 16.2, < 18.211.2
Meraki Z3 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 16.2, < 18.211.2
Meraki Vmx FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 16.2, < 18.211.2
Meraki Mx600 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 16.2, < 18.211.2

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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

  1. Identify the Meraki device model
    Access the Meraki dashboard or use the device's web interface to determine the exact model number (MX65, MX64, Z4c, Z4, Z3c, Z3, VMX, or MX600)
    Affected if The device model is NOT one of these eight models: MX65, MX64, Z4c, Z4, Z3c, Z3, VMX, or MX600
  2. Check the installed firmware version
    Navigate to Meraki Dashboard > Organization > Firmware upgrades, or check the device status page in the web UI to view the current firmware version
    Affected if The firmware version is greater than or equal to 16.2 (or 17.6.0 for MX64/MX65) AND less than 18.211.2
  3. Verify SSL VPN (AnyConnect) is enabled
    In Meraki Dashboard, go to Security & SD-WAN > Client VPN or Site-to-site VPN settings, and confirm the AnyConnect VPN feature is configured and active
    Affected if The AnyConnect VPN server is not enabled or not configured on the device
  4. Check for AnyConnect service restarts
    Review Meraki Dashboard event logs or system logs for entries indicating the AnyConnect service crashed or restarted unexpectedly, especially around the time of suspicious HTTPS traffic
    Affected if Multiple unexplained AnyConnect service restarts are logged without corresponding legitimate configuration changes

A user is affected if they have one of the eight listed device models running a firmware version in the vulnerable range (>=16.2 or >=17.6.0 depending on model, and <18.211.2) with AnyConnect VPN enabled.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 18.211.2 or later
Fixed in 18.211.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided security patch or firmware update from Cisco Meraki. If no patch is immediately available, consider restricting VPN access via firewall rules to limit exposure to trusted networks, and monitor for anomalous HTTPS traffic patterns targeting the VPN endpoint.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firmware version 18.211.2 or later for Meraki MX and Z Series devices

  1. 1. Log into the Meraki dashboard and navigate to the affected device (MX security appliance or Z Series Teleworker Gateway).
  2. 2. Navigate to the device's firmware settings (typically under Organization > Firmware or Device > Firmware).
  3. 3. Select the target firmware release 18.211.2 or later from the available firmware versions.
  4. 4. Apply the firmware upgrade to the affected device(s). The upgrade will automatically restart the Cisco AnyConnect VPN service.
  5. 5. After the firmware upgrade completes, verify the device is functioning correctly and the AnyConnect VPN service is operational.
  6. 6. Confirm the new firmware version is showing as 18.211.2 or later in the Meraki dashboard.
Caveat Standard Meraki firmware upgrade - may cause brief VPN service interruption during the upgrade process; existing SSL VPN connections will be terminated and users will need to reconnect

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

Fix this in Meraki Mx65 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-20501 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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