CVE-2024-20466 in Identity Services Engine Software
Summary
by MITRE • 08/21/2024
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to obtain sensitive information from an affected device.
This vulnerability is due to improper enforcement of administrative privilege levels for high-value sensitive data. An attacker with read-only Administrator privileges for the web-based management interface on an affected device could exploit this vulnerability by browsing to a page that contains sensitive data. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to collect sensitive information regarding the configuration of the system.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/01/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-20466 represents a critical access control weakness within Cisco Identity Services Engine's web-based management interface. This flaw manifests as insufficient privilege validation mechanisms that fail to properly enforce administrative role boundaries when accessing sensitive system data. The vulnerability specifically affects the authorization controls that govern what information authenticated users can access based on their assigned administrative roles, creating a scenario where less privileged accounts can bypass normal security restrictions to obtain confidential system details.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and privilege enforcement within the web interface's access control layer. When an authenticated user with read-only administrator privileges attempts to navigate to specific pages containing high-value sensitive data, the system fails to properly verify whether the user's role level should permit access to that particular information. This weakness allows attackers to exploit the interface's navigation paths to retrieve configuration details that should only be accessible to users with higher privilege levels. The flaw operates at the application layer and specifically targets the web management interface's data access controls rather than underlying system vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it provides attackers with valuable intelligence about the target system's configuration and operational parameters. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain insights into network topology, user configurations, authentication settings, and other sensitive operational details that could facilitate further attacks or compromise the overall security posture. This information disclosure threat aligns with attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the information discovery tactic, where adversaries seek to gather system information to inform subsequent compromise activities.
Organizations running affected Cisco ISE systems face significant risk from this vulnerability, particularly in environments where multiple administrative users exist with varying privilege levels. The attack vector requires only authentication to the web interface, making it accessible to anyone who can establish a valid login session, which could include compromised credentials from other attack vectors. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control, and represents a specific implementation weakness in privilege enforcement mechanisms. This flaw demonstrates the importance of principle of least privilege enforcement and proper role-based access control implementations in network management systems.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2024-20466 should include immediate implementation of Cisco's security patches and updates as released through their official vulnerability notifications. Network administrators should also conduct comprehensive privilege reviews to ensure that user accounts have only the minimum necessary access levels required for their operational functions. Additional defensive measures include enhanced monitoring of web interface access patterns, implementation of network segmentation to limit access to management interfaces, and regular security assessments of administrative access controls. Organizations should also consider implementing additional authentication controls such as multi-factor authentication for administrative access and regular audit of administrative user activities to detect potential unauthorized access attempts.