CVE-2024-20456
Cisco IOS XR Software Boot Process Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Description
A vulnerability in the boot process of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with high privileges to bypass the Cisco Secure Boot functionality and load unverified software on an affected device. To exploit this successfully, the attacker must have root-system privileges on the affected device. This vulnerability is due to an error in the software build process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by manipulating the system’s configuration options to bypass some of the integrity checks that are performed during the booting process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to control the boot configuration, which could enable them to bypass of the requirement to run Cisco signed images or alter the security properties of the running system.
INFO
Published Date :
July 10, 2024, 4:15 p.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 4, 2025, 5:44 p.m.
Source :
[email protected]
Remotely Exploitable :
No
Impact Score :
5.9
Exploitability Score :
0.8
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2024-20456
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.
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-2024-20456.
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-2024-20456 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2024-20456 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. 04, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CPE Configuration AND OR *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:24.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* 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:8201-32fh:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8608:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:8804:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_1010:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:h:cisco:ncs_1014:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* 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:ncs_57d2-18dd-sys:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* 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: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:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Added Reference Type CVE: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-xr-secure-boot-quD5g8Ap Types: Vendor Advisory Added Reference Type Cisco Systems, Inc.: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-xr-secure-boot-quD5g8Ap 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-xr-secure-boot-quD5g8Ap -
CVE Received by [email protected]
Jul. 10, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description A vulnerability in the boot process of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with high privileges to bypass the Cisco Secure Boot functionality and load unverified software on an affected device. To exploit this successfully, the attacker must have root-system privileges on the affected device. This vulnerability is due to an error in the software build process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by manipulating the system’s configuration options to bypass some of the integrity checks that are performed during the booting process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to control the boot configuration, which could enable them to bypass of the requirement to run Cisco signed images or alter the security properties of the running system. Added Reference Cisco Systems, Inc. https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-xr-secure-boot-quD5g8Ap [No types assigned] Added CWE Cisco Systems, Inc. CWE-732 Added CVSS V3.1 Cisco Systems, Inc. AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2024-20456 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-2024-20456
weaknesses.