CVE-2024-20359
A vulnerability in a legacy capability that allowed for the preloading of VPN clients and plug-ins and that has been available in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary code with root-level privileges. Administrator-level privileges are required to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of a file when it is read from system flash memory. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by copying a crafted file to the disk0: file system of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected device after the next reload of the device, which could alter system behavior. Because the injected code could persist across device reboots, Cisco has raised the Security Impact Rating (SIR) of this advisory from Medium to High.
- CVSS
- 6.0Mediumscored by the publisher (CNA)
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, in CISA KEV since 24 Apr 2024CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 1 May 2024
- EPSS
- 18.8%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 3% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 24 Apr 2024analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Do first. Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)
Summary
Triage
- Attack surface
- Server-side
- Exploitable
- At runtime
- Attack vector
- local
- Weakness
- CWE-94 Code Injection
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software | 9.8.19.8.1.59.8.1.79.8.29.8.2.89.8.2.149.8.2.159.8.2.179.8.2.209.8.2.249.8.2.269.8.2.289.8.2.339.8.2.359.8.2.389.8.3.89.8.3.119.8.3.149.8.3.169.8.3.189.8.3.219.8.39.8.3.269.8.3.299.8.49.8.4.39.8.4.79.8.4.89.8.4.109.8.4.129.8.4.159.8.4.179.8.4.259.8.4.209.8.4.229.8.4.269.8.4.299.8.4.329.8.4.339.8.4.349.8.4.359.8.4.399.8.4.409.8.4.419.8.4.439.8.4.449.8.4.459.8.4.469.8.4.489.12.19.12.1.29.12.1.39.12.29.12.2.49.12.2.59.12.2.99.12.39.12.3.29.12.3.79.12.49.12.3.129.12.3.99.12.2.19.12.4.29.12.4.49.12.4.79.12.4.109.12.4.139.12.4.89.12.4.189.12.4.249.12.4.269.12.4.299.12.4.309.12.4.359.12.4.379.12.4.389.12.4.399.12.4.409.12.4.419.12.4.479.12.4.489.12.4.509.12.4.529.12.4.549.12.4.559.12.4.569.12.4.589.12.4.629.12.4.659.14.19.14.1.109.14.1.69.14.1.159.14.1.199.14.1.309.14.29.14.2.49.14.2.89.14.2.139.14.2.159.14.39.14.3.19.14.3.99.14.3.119.14.3.139.14.3.189.14.3.159.14.49.14.4.69.14.4.79.14.4.129.14.4.139.14.4.149.14.4.159.14.4.179.14.4.229.14.4.239.15.19.15.1.79.15.1.109.15.1.159.15.1.169.15.1.179.15.1.19.15.1.219.16.19.16.1.289.16.29.16.2.39.16.2.79.16.2.119.16.2.139.16.2.149.16.39.16.3.39.16.3.149.16.3.159.16.3.199.16.3.239.16.49.16.4.99.16.4.149.16.4.189.16.4.199.16.4.279.16.4.389.16.4.399.16.4.429.16.4.489.16.4.559.17.19.17.1.79.17.1.99.17.1.109.17.1.119.17.1.139.17.1.159.17.1.209.17.1.309.17.1.339.18.19.18.1.39.18.29.18.2.59.18.2.79.18.2.89.18.39.18.3.399.18.3.469.18.3.539.18.3.559.18.3.569.18.49.18.4.59.18.4.89.19.19.19.1.59.19.1.99.19.1.129.19.1.189.19.1.229.19.1.249.19.1.279.20.19.20.1.59.20.2Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Cisco Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software | 6.2.36.2.3.16.2.3.26.2.3.36.2.3.46.2.3.56.2.3.66.2.3.76.2.3.86.2.3.106.2.3.116.2.3.96.2.3.126.2.3.136.2.3.146.2.3.156.2.3.166.2.3.176.2.3.186.6.06.6.0.16.6.16.6.36.6.46.6.56.6.5.16.6.5.26.6.76.6.7.16.4.06.4.0.16.4.0.36.4.0.26.4.0.46.4.0.56.4.0.66.4.0.76.4.0.86.4.0.96.4.0.106.4.0.116.4.0.126.4.0.136.4.0.146.4.0.156.4.0.166.4.0.176.7.06.7.0.16.7.0.26.7.0.37.0.07.0.0.17.0.17.0.1.17.0.27.0.2.17.0.37.0.47.0.57.0.67.0.6.17.1.07.1.0.17.1.0.27.1.0.37.2.07.2.0.17.2.17.2.27.2.37.2.47.2.4.17.2.57.2.5.17.3.07.3.17.3.1.17.4.07.4.1Vendor says fixed in: not stated |
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
Products named in our analysis
- cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software
- cisco:secure_firewall_threat_defense
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? No. The attack needs local access to the machine, so a WAF is not on its path.
Also consider: remove eval sinks · RASP
Based on the attack vector (local or physical access). We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Listed since 24 Apr 2024.
- CISA due date
- 1 May 2024, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
- CISA required action
- Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- Public exploit code
- None on record in Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei templates or PoC-in-GitHub.
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact partialAssessed by CISA 30 Apr 2024 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
Timeline
- 24 Apr 2024Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)
- 24 Apr 2024Published1 day later
- 30 Apr 2024CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active6 days later
- 1 May 2024CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)same day later
- 21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated539 days (about 1 year) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com387 days (about 1 year) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | LocalLocal access required (shell, logged-in user). | Local access required (shell, logged-in user). |
| Attack complexity | LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions. | Repeatable attack, no special conditions. |
| Privileges required | HighThe attacker needs admin-level privileges. | The attacker needs admin-level privileges. |
| User interaction | NoneNo victim action needed. | No victim action needed. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | NoneThe service stays up. | The service stays up. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2024-20359 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2024-20359 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2024-20359?
CVE-2024-20359 is rated Medium with a CVSS score of 6.0. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2024-20359?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2024-20359. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2024-20359 affect?
CVE-2024-20359 affects cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software, cisco:secure_firewall_threat_defense. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
3 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Exploits (1)
- blog.talosintelligence.com /arcanedoor-new-espionage-focused-campaign-found-targeting-perimeter-network-dev
Other links (2)
- sec.cloudapps.cisco.com /security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asaftd-persist-rce-FLsNX
- cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2024-20359
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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