7.8
HIGH
CVE-2024-20320
Cisco SSH Client Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Description

A vulnerability in the SSH client feature of Cisco IOS XR Software for Cisco 8000 Series Routers and Cisco Network Convergence System (NCS) 540 Series and 5700 Series Routers could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of arguments that are included with the SSH client CLI command. An attacker with low-privileged access to an affected device could exploit this vulnerability by issuing a crafted SSH client command to the CLI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root on the affected device.

INFO

Published Date :

March 13, 2024, 5:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

Aug. 5, 2025, 2:40 p.m.

Remotely Exploitable :

No

Impact Score :

5.9

Exploitability Score :

1.8
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2024-20320 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Cisco ios_xr
2 Cisco 8201
3 Cisco 8202
4 Cisco 8101-32fh
5 Cisco 8102-64h
6 Cisco 8201-32fh
7 Cisco 8804
8 Cisco 8808
9 Cisco 8812
10 Cisco 8818
11 Cisco ncs_540-12z20g-sys-a
12 Cisco ncs_540-12z20g-sys-d
13 Cisco ncs_540-24z8q2c-sys
14 Cisco ncs_540-28z4c-sys-a
15 Cisco ncs_540-28z4c-sys-d
16 Cisco ncs_540-acc-sys
17 Cisco ncs_540x-12z16g-sys-a
18 Cisco ncs_540x-12z16g-sys-d
19 Cisco ncs_540x-16z4g8q2c-a
20 Cisco ncs_540x-16z4g8q2c-d
21 Cisco ncs_540x-acc-sys
22 Cisco ncs_57b1-5dse-sys
23 Cisco ncs_57b1-6d24-sys
24 Cisco ncs_57c1-48q6-sys
25 Cisco ncs_540-24q2c2dd-sys
26 Cisco ncs_540-24q8l2dd-sys
27 Cisco ncs_540-6z14s-sys-d
28 Cisco ncs_540-6z18g-sys-a
29 Cisco ncs_540-6z18g-sys-d
30 Cisco ncs_540-fh-agg
31 Cisco ncs_540-fh-csr-sys
32 Cisco ncs_540x-16z8q2c-d
33 Cisco ncs_540x-4z14g2q-a
34 Cisco ncs_540x-4z14g2q-d
35 Cisco ncs_540x-6z18g-sys-a
36 Cisco ncs_540x-6z18g-sys-d
37 Cisco ncs_540x-8z16g-sys-a
38 Cisco ncs_540x-8z16g-sys-d
39 Cisco 8608
40 Cisco 8011-4g24y4h-i
41 Cisco 8101-32fh-o
42 Cisco 8101-32h-o
43 Cisco 8102-28fh-dpu-o
44 Cisco 8102-64h-o
45 Cisco 8111-32eh-o
46 Cisco 8122-64eh-o
47 Cisco 8122-64ehf-o
48 Cisco 8201-24h8fh
49 Cisco 8201-32fh-o
50 Cisco 8202-32fh-m
51 Cisco 8212-48fh-m
52 Cisco 8404
53 Cisco 8501-sys-mt
54 Cisco 8700
55 Cisco 8711-32fh-m
56 Cisco 8712-mod-m
57 Cisco ios_xrd_control_plane
58 Cisco ios_xrd_vrouter
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2024-20320.

URL Resource
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxr-ssh-privesc-eWDMKew3 Vendor Advisory
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxr-ssh-privesc-eWDMKew3 Vendor Advisory

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2024-20320 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2024-20320 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Aug. 05, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CPE Configuration AND OR *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.9.21:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.7.21:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.5.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.8.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.10.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:* OR cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-12z20g-sys-a:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-12z20g-sys-d:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-24z8q2c-sys:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-28z4c-sys-a:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-28z4c-sys-d:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-acc-sys:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8101-32fh:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8102-64h:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8201:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8202:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8808:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8812:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8818:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-12z16g-sys-a:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-12z16g-sys-d:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-16z4g8q2c-a:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-16z4g8q2c-d:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-acc-sys:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8011-4g24y4h-i:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8101-32fh-o:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8101-32h-o:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8102-28fh-dpu-o:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8201-32fh:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8608:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8804:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-6z14s-sys-d:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-6z18g-sys-a:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-6z18g-sys-d:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-24q2c2dd-sys:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-24q8l2dd-sys:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-fh-agg:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540-fh-csr-sys:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-4z14g2q-a:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-4z14g2q-d:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-6z18g-sys-a:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-6z18g-sys-d:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-8z16g-sys-a:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-8z16g-sys-d:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_540x-16z8q2c-d:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_57b1-5dse-sys:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_57b1-6d24-sys:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_57c1-48q6-sys:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8102-64h-o:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8111-32eh-o:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8122-64eh-o:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8122-64ehf-o:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8201-24h8fh:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8202-32fh-m:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8201-32fh-o:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8212-48fh-m:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8404:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8501-sys-mt:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8700:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8711-32fh-m:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8712-mod-m:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:a:cisco:ios_xrd_control_plane:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:a:cisco:ios_xrd_vrouter:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    Added Reference Type CVE: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxr-ssh-privesc-eWDMKew3 Types: Vendor Advisory
    Added Reference Type Cisco Systems, Inc.: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxr-ssh-privesc-eWDMKew3 Types: Vendor Advisory
  • CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    Nov. 21, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxr-ssh-privesc-eWDMKew3
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • CVE Received by [email protected]

    Mar. 13, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description A vulnerability in the SSH client feature of Cisco IOS XR Software for Cisco 8000 Series Routers and Cisco Network Convergence System (NCS) 540 Series and 5700 Series Routers could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of arguments that are included with the SSH client CLI command. An attacker with low-privileged access to an affected device could exploit this vulnerability by issuing a crafted SSH client command to the CLI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to root on the affected device.
    Added Reference Cisco Systems, Inc. https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-iosxr-ssh-privesc-eWDMKew3 [No types assigned]
    Added CWE Cisco Systems, Inc. CWE-266
    Added CVSS V3.1 Cisco Systems, Inc. AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2024-20320 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2024-20320 weaknesses.

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability