CVE-2024-20368 in Identity Services Engine Software
Summary
by MITRE • 04/03/2024
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attack and perform arbitrary actions on an affected device.
This vulnerability is due to insufficient CSRF protections for the web-based management interface of an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user of the interface to follow a crafted link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform arbitrary actions on the affected device with the privileges of the targeted user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/28/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-20368 represents a critical security flaw within Cisco Identity Services Engine's web-based management interface, specifically targeting the system's cross-site request forgery protection mechanisms. This weakness enables unauthenticated remote attackers to execute malicious actions on affected devices without requiring valid credentials or prior access. The vulnerability stems from inadequate CSRF safeguards that fail to properly validate and authenticate requests originating from the web interface, creating a significant attack surface that could be exploited by threat actors seeking unauthorized access to network security infrastructure.
Cisco Identity Services Engine serves as a critical component in enterprise network security, providing identity management, access control, and policy enforcement capabilities across organizations. The web-based management interface is designed to allow administrators to configure and monitor the system's operations, but this particular vulnerability undermines the integrity of that interface by failing to implement robust CSRF protection measures. The flaw operates through a classic attack vector where an attacker crafts malicious links or web pages that, when clicked by an authenticated user, execute unauthorized commands on the ISE device. This exploitation technique relies on the trust relationship between the web interface and legitimate users, leveraging the user's existing authentication session to perform actions they might not intend to authorize.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with the ability to perform arbitrary actions within the context of the targeted user's privileges. This means that if a low-privilege user clicks on a malicious link, the attacker can only perform actions permitted by that user's role, but if an administrator is targeted, the consequences could be far more severe. The vulnerability affects the integrity and availability of the ISE system, potentially allowing attackers to modify network policies, access sensitive user data, disrupt authentication services, or even gain persistent access to the network infrastructure. Organizations relying on ISE for critical identity and access management functions face significant risk from this flaw, as it could compromise their entire security posture.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw demonstrates a failure in implementing proper request validation and authentication checks that are fundamental to web application security. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving initial access through web-based attacks and privilege escalation through exploitation of interface weaknesses. Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying Cisco's security patches, implementing network segmentation to limit access to the ISE management interface, and deploying additional authentication controls. The recommended approach includes enabling CSRF tokens for all state-changing operations, implementing proper session management, and conducting thorough security assessments of web interfaces to identify similar vulnerabilities that could compromise other network infrastructure components.