Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-13986

Path Traversal in Nagios Xi ≤ 2024

Public PoCPath Traversal
Published
28 August 2025
Modified
17 June 2026
CVSS Score v4 8.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.017 76th percentile
Risk Priority 43 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-13986 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Nagios Nagios Xi. Its CVSS base score is 8.7 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 24% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2024-13986 is a remote code execution vulnerability affecting Nagios XI versions prior to 2024R1.3.2. It stems from chaining two flaws in the Core Config Snapshots interface: an arbitrary file upload and a path traversal vulnerability. These issues arise due to insufficient validation of file paths and extensions during MIB upload and snapshot rename operations, allowing attackers to place attacker-controlled PHP files in a web-accessible directory, where they execute as the www-data user. The vulnerability is rated with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is associated with CWE-22 (Path Traversal) and CWE-434 (Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type).

An authenticated attacker with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network with low complexity and no user interaction required. By leveraging the file upload flaw to submit a malicious MIB file and the path traversal during snapshot rename, the attacker achieves arbitrary PHP code execution on the server as the www-data user, potentially leading to high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts.

Advisories recommend updating to Nagios XI 2024R1.3.2 or later to mitigate the vulnerability, as detailed in the Nagios changelog and security advisories. Additional technical details and proof-of-concept information are available from sources including VulnCheck and TheyHack.me references.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access ControlA06:2025 Insecure Design

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Nagios XI < 2024R1.3.2 contains a remote code execution vulnerability by chaining two flaws: an arbitrary file upload and a path traversal in the Core Config Snapshots interface. The issue arises from insufficient validation of file paths and extensions during…

more

MIB upload and snapshot rename operations. Exploitation results in the placement of attacker-controlled PHP files in a web-accessible directory, executed as the www-data user.

CWE(s)
CWE-22CWE-434

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1505 Server Software Component Persistence
Adversaries may abuse legitimate extensible development features of servers to establish persistent access to systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1505.003 Web Shell Persistence
Adversaries may backdoor web servers with web shells to establish persistent access to systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer Command And Control
Adversaries may transfer tools or other files from an external system into a compromised environment.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-67254Same product: Nagios Nagios Xi
CVE-2023-47211Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2024-23472Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2023-39912Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2022-29081Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2023-31450Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2024-4885Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2025-40549Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2024-5017Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2023-35187Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM

Affected Assets

nagios
nagios xi
2024 · ≤ 2024

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2
  • V5.1.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-3 Access Enforcement good match

Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.

SI-3 Malicious Code Protection good match

Malicious-code protection at entry points blocks dangerous file types from being accepted and executed.

AC-6 Least Privilege partial match

Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.

CM-7 Least Functionality partial match

Least functionality restricts the file types and automatic processing capabilities the system will accept.

SC-18 Mobile Code partial match

Mobile-code controls define, authorize, and block unacceptable uploaded code before automatic processing occurs.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-05 mostly match
prevents

Restricting execution of unauthorized software directly blocks dangerous uploaded files from running.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

Hardened configuration baselines can enforce allowed file types and processing rules.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.PS-06 partial match
prevents

Secure development practices include input validation and file-type restrictions that prevent this weakness.

PR.AA-05 none match
prevents

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

A.8.3 Information access restriction partial match
mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References