Cisco ASA and FTD Persistent Local Code Execution Vulnerability
CVE-2024-20359 is a persistent local code execution vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software. The flaw affects a legacy capability used to preload VPN clients and plug-ins. It is caused by improper validation of a file read from system flash memory. Cisco and supporting reporting indicate that, at boot, affected ASA devices look on disk0: for a ZIP file matching the pattern ^client_bundle[%w_-]*%.zip$, automatically unzip it, and execute csco_config.lua from the bundle as part of the WebVPN plug-in/client bundle handling path. An authenticated local attacker with administrator privileges can exploit the issue by copying a crafted file to the disk0: filesystem of an affected device. On the next device reload, the malicious bundle is processed and attacker-controlled code is executed with root privileges. Reporting tied to ArcaneDoor further associates this behavior with the LINE RUNNER implant, which abused the mechanism for persistent Lua-based backdoor installation.
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Impact, mitigation & remediation
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
Impact
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
Mitigation
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Remediation
Patch, then assume compromise.
Exploits
No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.
No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.
Affected products & vendors
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
Recent activity
24 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A Cisco ASA zero-day vulnerability referenced as part of the 2024 ArcaneDoor campaign and used to deploy malware on targeted devices.
A zero-day vulnerability in Cisco devices exploited as part of the ArcaneDoor campaign to breach government networks.
A vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance allowing arbitrary code execution.
A zero-day vulnerability in Cisco ASA and FTD software exploited as part of the ArcaneDoor campaign to breach government networks.
The version that knows your environment.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.