CVE-2024-20399

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated user in possession of Administrator credentials to execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of arguments that are passed to specific configuration CLI commands. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by including crafted input as the argument of an affected configuration CLI command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with the privileges of root. Note: To successfully exploit this vulnerability on a Cisco NX-OS device, an attacker must have Administrator credentials. The following Cisco devices already allow administrative users to access the underlying operating system through the bash-shell feature, so, for these devices, this vulnerability does not grant any additional privileges: Nexus 3000 Series Switches Nexus 7000 Series Switches that are running Cisco NX-OS Software releases 8.1(1) and later Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode

Data as of 2 Nov 2026 · NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS

Defenders still triage vulnerabilities one CVE at a time, while increasingly automated attackers combine them at machine speed. Omenwave models the plausible pathways by which this CVE could be chained with others — surfacing them for research and awareness, with evidence for each step.

Kill-chain stage

EXECUTION

Requires

PRIV access, LOCAL vector

Grants

PRIV access

Capabilities

code execution

Model confidence

high · CVSS 3.1