CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2024-20478 — Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.2

A vulnerability in the software upgrade component of Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) and Cisco Cloud Network Controller, formerly Cisco Cloud APIC, could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with Administrator-level privileges to install a modified software image, leading to arbitrary code injection on an affected system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient signature validation of software images. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by installing a modified software image. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected system and elevate their privileges to root. Note: Administrators should always validate the hash of any upgrade image before uploading it to Cisco APIC and Cisco Cloud Network Controller.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.2 (3.1)
Published
2024-08-28
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-250

Affected products

  • cisco / application_policy_infrastructure_controller / 1.1(1d)
  • cisco / application_policy_infrastructure_controller / 1.1(1j)
  • cisco / application_policy_infrastructure_controller / 1.1(1n)
  • cisco / application_policy_infrastructure_controller / 1.1(1o)
  • cisco / application_policy_infrastructure_controller / 1.1(1r)
  • cisco / application_policy_infrastructure_controller / 1.1(1s)

Showing 6 representative product identities from 222 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Privilege escalation and unsafe privilege management

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Check exposure

  • Map service accounts, operating-system identities, roles, capabilities, impersonation, set-user transitions, and administrative helper paths.
  • Determine whether untrusted users or lower-privilege processes can reach the affected transition or modify inputs it trusts.
  • Review file, socket, registry, device, job, container, and cloud-role permissions used before and after privilege changes.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the supported fix and redesign privileged operations as a minimal, authenticated, allowlisted interface.
  • Drop privileges before processing untrusted input, verify the drop succeeds, and remove unnecessary roles, capabilities, and write permissions.
  • Validate ownership and permissions at time of use and add explicit lower-to-higher privilege boundary tests.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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