# CVE-2024-20304: Cisco IOS XR Software Packet Memory Exhaustion Vulnerability

> An unauthenticated remote attacker can exhaust UDP packet memory via crafted Mtrace2 packets, causing a denial of service on Cisco IOS XR devices.

- **Severity:** High 8.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Sep 2024
- **Updated:** 11 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3252-jgxw-qhmv

## What is CVE-2024-20304?

CVE-2024-20304 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xr, published on 11 Sep 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the multicast traceroute version 2 (Mtrace2) feature of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to exhaust the UDP packet memory of an affected device.

This vulnerability exists because the Mtrace2 code does not properly handle packet memory. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust the incoming UDP packet memory. The affected device would not be able to process higher-level UDP-based protocols packets, possibly causing a denial of service (DoS) condition.
Note: This vulnerability can be exploited using IPv4 or IPv6.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-20304?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios Xr.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-20304?

No fix has been published for CVE-2024-20304 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2024-20304 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-20304 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Ios Xr

- [CVE-2020-3118](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3118/): Cisco IOS XR Software Discovery Protocol Format String (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-3569](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3569/): Cisco IOS XR Software DVMRP Memory Exhaustion (high 8.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-3566](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3566/): Cisco IOS XR Software DVMRP Memory Exhaustion (high 8.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2010-3035](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3035/): Cisco IOS XR Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Denial-of-Service (high 7.5, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-20821](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20821/): Cisco IOS XR Open Port (medium 6.5, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-20304 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-20304 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xr, published on 11 Sep 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-20304 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Ios Xr. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20304/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20304/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-20304
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-20304
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-20304

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20304/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.