Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-20278

Cisco Ios Xe 17.10.1 … 17.9.4a

Published
27 March 2024
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0055 43th percentile
Risk Priority 49 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-20278 is a medium-severity Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs (CWE-184) vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe. Its CVSS base score is 6.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 43th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

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

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability in the NETCONF feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privileges to root on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit…

more

this vulnerability by sending crafted input over NETCONF to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges from Administrator to root.

CWE(s)
CWE-184

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 →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-20437Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2025-20214Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2025-20195Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2024-20434Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2025-20202Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2024-20464Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2025-20186Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2025-20155Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2024-20313Same product: Cisco Ios Xe
CVE-2023-20072Same product: Cisco Ios Xe

Affected Assets

cisco
ios xe
17.10.1, 17.10.1a, 17.10.1b, 17.11.1, 17.11.1a

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 1 OS baseline
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V3.5.2
  • V4.4.2
  • V16.2.5

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

SI-10 requires validity checks on inputs, which structurally replaces incomplete deny-lists with complete allow-list or sanitization logic.

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-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require complete, positive input validation instead of incomplete denylists.

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 can discover missing input checks, but does not prevent the weakness during development.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can mandate complete input validation rules, but the control itself does not prescribe how to build those rules.

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

Secure architecture principles include robust input validation design, yet the control is broader than this single weakness.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly require exhaustive allow-lists or complete deny-lists for inputs, addressing the root cause of incomplete disallowed-input lists.

References