CVE-2024-20303
Cisco Ios Xe 17.10.1 … 17.9.3a
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:HSummary
CVE-2024-20303 is a high-severity Incomplete Cleanup (CWE-459) vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe. Its CVSS base score is 7.4 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 25th 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 SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-14 (Non-persistence) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-18018
Vulnerability Data
A vulnerability in the multicast DNS (mDNS) gateway feature of Cisco IOS XE Software for Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to improper management…
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of mDNS client entries. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to the wireless network and sending a continuous stream of specific mDNS packets. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the wireless controller to have high CPU utilization, which could lead to access points (APs) losing their connection to the controller and result in a DoS condition.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V6.4.1
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover incomplete cleanup through dynamic analysis or resource-leak testing.
Non-persistence mechanisms explicitly initiate resources in a known state and terminate them, directly enforcing cleanup.
Session termination forces explicit release of session-related temporary resources.
Preventing unintended information transfer through shared resources requires complete cleanup of those resources.
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.
Secure-development practices and coding standards normally require proper resource release and cleanup.
Life-cycle management encompasses disposal of temporary resources but does not specifically target runtime cleanup bugs.
Explicitly calls for removing sensitive data after use, directly addressing one class of incomplete cleanup.
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.
Explicitly requires secure deletion of temporary or residual data, directly addressing incomplete cleanup.
SDLC practices include cleanup steps, yet the weakness can still occur if those steps are omitted.
Secure-coding rules can mandate explicit cleanup of temporary resources, but do not guarantee it.
Change-management processes may require cleanup verification, but the control itself does not address the weakness.