CVE-2024-20439
Exposed Creds in Cisco Smart License Utility 2.0.0 – 2.3.0
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2024-20439 is a critical-severity Hidden Functionality (CWE-912) vulnerability in Cisco Smart License Utility. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Credentials In Files (T1552.001); ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to CM-2 (Baseline Configuration) and CM-7 (Least Functionality) — 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-2024-20439 is a vulnerability in Cisco Smart Licensing Utility (CSLU) stemming from an undocumented static administrative credential. The flaw, tracked under CWE-798 and CWE-912, permits unauthenticated remote access to the CSLU application API with full administrative privileges and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the hardcoded credential to log directly into an affected CSLU instance. Successful exploitation grants administrative control over the licensing utility's API, enabling arbitrary actions within the application without any user interaction or prior authentication.
The Cisco Security Advisory at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cslu-7gHMzWmw and the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog both address the issue, with CISA listing the CVE as actively exploited in the wild. The associated EPSS score stands at 0.8715, indicating substantial exploitation likelihood.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-18154
Vulnerability Data
A vulnerability in Cisco Smart Licensing Utility (CSLU) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log into an affected system by using a static administrative credential. This vulnerability is due to an undocumented static user credential for an administrative account.…
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An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using the static credentials to login to the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to login to the affected system with administrative rights over the CSLU application API.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 31 March 2025
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Maintaining and reviewing a documented baseline configuration allows comparison that reveals any functionality absent from the approved specification.
Least-functionality configuration explicitly prohibits or restricts any capability not required by the approved baseline, blocking hidden additions.
Authenticator management requires secure distribution and handling of credentials, structurally discouraging hard-coded values.
Developer testing and evaluation activities are designed to discover undocumented or unspecified functionality after it has been introduced.
Cryptographic key management mandates proper establishment and handling instead of embedding keys in code.
Documented development processes and standards require all functionality to be specified and visible, structurally preventing undocumented hidden features.
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.AA-01's credential/key-management processes can reduce the incentive to embed secrets but do not address or detect hard-coded values in source code, so the weakness remains fully possible.
PR.AA-02 addresses human identity proofing and per-person credential issuance at enrollment; it has no bearing on whether developers embed static credentials in software.
PR.DS-01 addresses encryption and integrity of stored data but never touches credential or key management practices, so it neither prevents hard-coded credentials nor removes any of their risk.
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.
Education on secure configuration practices discourages technical staff from embedding or relying on hard-coded credentials in systems and applications.
Hardening callouts derived
DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.
- No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-912, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.