CVE-2024-13997 in Nagios
Summary
by MITRE • 11/04/2025
Nagios XI versions prior to 2024R1.1.3 contain a privilege escalation vulnerability in which an authenticated administrator could leverage the Migrate Server feature to obtain root privileges on the underlying XI host. By abusing the migration workflow, an admin-level attacker could execute actions outside the intended security scope of the application, resulting in full control of the operating system.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/08/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-13997 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within Nagios XI versions before 2024R1.1.3 that directly undermines the security posture of monitoring infrastructure. This issue specifically targets the Migrate Server functionality, which is designed to facilitate server transitions within the Nagios XI environment. The vulnerability arises from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the migration workflow, allowing authenticated administrators to exploit a path traversal or command injection vector that bypasses normal security boundaries.
The technical implementation of this flaw leverages the administrative privileges already possessed by a legitimate user within the Nagios XI application. When utilizing the Migrate Server feature, the system fails to properly validate or sanitize user inputs that control the execution of underlying operating system commands. This weakness creates an opportunity for an attacker with administrative access to manipulate the migration process in such a way that arbitrary commands are executed with elevated privileges. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management, which specifically addresses situations where applications fail to properly enforce access controls for privileged operations.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond typical application-level security concerns. An attacker who successfully exploits this privilege escalation vector gains complete control over the underlying operating system hosting the Nagios XI instance. This level of access enables the attacker to modify or delete critical system files, install malicious software, create new administrative accounts, and potentially use the compromised system as a pivot point for further attacks within the network infrastructure. The attack surface expands significantly as the compromised system can be used to access other network resources that may not be directly protected by Nagios XI's own security controls.
The exploitation of CVE-2024-13997 aligns with tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the use of legitimate credentials and administrative access to gain higher-level system privileges. This vulnerability represents a particularly dangerous scenario because it requires only an authenticated administrator account to initiate the attack, eliminating the need for additional reconnaissance or credential theft phases. Organizations using affected Nagios XI versions face significant risk as this vulnerability can be exploited by insiders or attackers who have already gained administrative access through other means. The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediate deployment of the patched Nagios XI 2024R1.1.3 release, which implements proper input validation and access control measures within the migration workflow. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring for unusual command execution patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and privilege reviews should be conducted to minimize the attack surface and ensure that administrative accounts maintain only necessary permissions for their operational requirements.