CVE-2024-20295: Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) Command Injection Vulnerability Exploitation and Privilege Escalation

Introduction:
A newly discovered vulnerability (CVE-2024-20295) in the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) can lead to severe security threats. This vulnerability exists in the command-line interface (CLI) of the Cisco Integrated Management Controller, and an experienced attacker can exploit it for launching command injection attacks on the underlying operating system. In addition, the attacker can escalate their privileges to root by leveraging this vulnerability effectively. The only requirement for exploiting this vulnerability is that the attacker must have read-only or higher privileges on the affected device. This flaw is mainly due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. Let's dive into the vulnerability details, exploitation steps, and code snippets to understand it better.

Vulnerability (CVE-2024-20295) Details

The primary cause of this vulnerability is inadequate validation of user-supplied input. An authenticated attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability by submitting a specially crafted CLI command. This command can lead to privilege escalation, eventually allowing the attacker to gain root access.

The following is a simplified example of a malicious CLI command exploiting the vulnerability

$ cli_command="&& rm -rf / &&"  # This is just an example, and actual exploitation would be more complex.
$ cisco_imc_cli -e "$cli_command"

In this example, the crafted command will attempt to remove all files and directories in the root folder (which is NOT recommended, and only used for demonstration purposes). The actual attack would involve more sophisticated and stealthy methods to elevate privileges without causing unwanted harm or alerting the system administrators.

Original References

The following resources provide in-depth information about the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) vulnerability (CVE-2024-20295):

1. Cisco Security Advisory: https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180905-imc-cli

2. CVE Details: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-20295

Mitigation Recommendations

To protect against this vulnerability, Cisco has released a software update that addresses the issue. The company recommends that all users with affected devices upgrade to the latest version of the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) software. Additionally, it is crucial to enforce proper access control mechanisms and monitor user activities to ensure that unauthorized users do not gain read-only or higher privileges on the affected devices.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) command injection vulnerability (CVE-2024-20295) is a critical security issue that can lead to privilege escalation and potential root access. Ensuring that your devices are running the latest software and that proper access control mechanisms are in place can help safeguard against the exploitation of this vulnerability.

Timeline

Published on: 04/24/2024 20:15:07 UTC
Last modified on: 06/04/2024 17:40:08 UTC