# CVE-2024-20359: Cisco ASA and FTD Privilege Escalation > Authenticated local attackers can execute arbitrary code with root privileges by placing a crafted file in system flash memory on Cisco ASA or FTD devices. - **Severity:** Medium 6.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 24 Apr 2024 (CISA KEV) - **Login needed:** An administrator - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** No - **Published:** 24 Apr 2024 - **Updated:** 21 Oct 2025 - **Also known as:** GHSA-rqwm-368v-fp53 ## What is CVE-2024-20359? CVE-2024-20359 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, published on 24 Apr 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description A vulnerability in a legacy capability that allowed for the preloading of VPN clients and plug-ins and that has been available in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary code with root-level privileges. Administrator-level privileges are required to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of a file when it is read from system flash memory. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by copying a crafted file to the disk0: file system of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected device after the next reload of the device, which could alter system behavior. Because the injected code could persist across device reboots, Cisco has raised the Security Impact Rating (SIR) of this advisory from Medium to High. Weakness: CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-20359? It affects 2 products. Products: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense. ## How do I fix CVE-2024-20359? No fix has been published for CVE-2024-20359 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 1 May 2024. ## Is CVE-2024-20359 being exploited? Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2024-20359 in the wild since at least 24 Apr 2024. ## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software - [CVE-2025-20333](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20333/): Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Buffer Overflow (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2016-6366](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6366/): Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SNMP Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2026-20349](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20349/): Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Heap Inspection (high 8.6, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2024-20353](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20353/): Cisco ASA and FTD Denial of Service (high 8.6, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2016-6367](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6367/): Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) CLI Remote Code Execution (high 7.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2024-20359 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2024-20359 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, published on 24 Apr 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2024-20359 in the wild since at least 24 Apr 2024. Affected product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software. 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-2024-20359/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20359/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-20359 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-20359 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-20359 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20359/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.