A recent security vulnerability (CVE-2024-20432) has been found in the REST API and web UI of the Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC), which could put your organization at risk. This vulnerability enables an authenticated, low-privileged, remote attacker to conduct a command injection attack against an affected device. In this long read, we will discuss the details of this vulnerability, its potential impact on your network, and how you can address it.
Vulnerability Details
The issue occurs due to improper user authorization and insufficient validation of command arguments in the REST API and web UI of NDFC. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting crafted malicious commands to a vulnerable REST API endpoint or through the web UI of an affected device. A successful exploit could potentially allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the command-line interface (CLI) of a Cisco NDFC-managed device with network-admin privileges.
It's important to note that this vulnerability does not affect Cisco NDFC when it is configured for storage area network (SAN) controller deployment.
Affected Products
To determine if your organization may be at risk due to the CVE-2024-20432 vulnerability, check if you are using any of the following products:
Code Snippet showcasing the vulnerability
This is a sample code snippet that demonstrates exploiting the vulnerability
import requests
# Replace the following variables with appropriate values
TARGET_URL = "https://TARGET-NDFC-IP-ADDRESS/api/v1/endpoint";
CREDENTIALS = ("USERNAME", "PASSWORD")
COMMAND_TO_INJECT = "arbitrary_command;"
# Perform an authenticated request to the REST API endpoint
response = requests.post(
TARGET_URL,
data={"command": COMMAND_TO_INJECT},
auth=CREDENTIALS
)
# Check if the exploit was successful
if response.status_code == 200:
print("Exploit succeeded")
else:
print("Exploit failed")
Original references
1. Cisco Advisory: CVE-2024-20432 - Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC) Command Injection Vulnerability
2. National Vulnerability Database (NVD): CVE-2024-20432 Detail
Apply the latest security updates and patches provided by Cisco to affected devices in your network.
2. Restrict access to the REST API and web UI of the affected products to trusted users and ensure that user privileges are appropriately configured.
3. Monitor your network for any unusual activity or unauthorized access attempts that may indicate an attempted exploit of this vulnerability.
4. Regularly review and update your organization's security policies and procedures to increase overall security posture and minimize the risk of similar vulnerabilities being exploited in the future.
Conclusion
The CVE-2024-20432 vulnerability in Cisco NDFC's REST API and web UI poses a significant risk to organizations using affected products. By understanding the details of this vulnerability and implementing the recommended mitigation strategies, organizations can protect their networks from potential exploits and minimize the potential impact of this security issue.
Timeline
Published on: 10/02/2024 17:15:15 UTC
Last modified on: 10/08/2024 14:10:35 UTC