What it is
CVE-2024-20359 is a vulnerability affecting Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software, Cisco Firepower Threat Defense.... A vulnerability in a legacy capability that allowed for the preloading of VPN...
Vulnerability report
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
Cisco / Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software · 9.12.1 to <= 9.12.4.65
Decision summary
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
What it is
CVE-2024-20359 is a vulnerability affecting Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software, Cisco Firepower Threat Defense.... A vulnerability in a legacy capability that allowed for the preloading of VPN...
Is it exploited?
Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.
Who is affected?
Cisco / Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software 9.12.1 to <= 9.12.4.65.
What should we do?
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Overview
A vulnerability in a legacy capability that allowed for the preloading of VPN clients and plug-ins and that has been available in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary code with root-level privileges. Administrator-level privileges are required to exploit this vulnerability.
This vulnerability is due to improper validation of a file when it is read from system flash memory. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by copying a crafted file to the disk0: file system of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected device after the next reload of the device, which could alter system behavior. Because the injected code could persist across device reboots, Cisco has raised the Security Impact Rating (SIR) of this advisory from Medium to High.
Exploitation evidence
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
CISA
Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2024-04-24 00:00 UTC |
Detection
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.
Nessus template detected 02 Jun 2025.
View Nessus template (opens in new tab)No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.
| Scanner | Reference | Detected |
|---|---|---|
| Nessus | https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/193897 | 02 Jun 2025 |
Risk and context
CVSS v3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS
19.4%
Recent mention · Tenable Blog
The 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) reveals that vulnerability exploitation was present in 20% of breaches — a 34% increase year-over-year. To support the report, Tenable Research contributed enriched data on the most exploited vulnerabilities. In this...
Read full advisoryTimeline
Scanner coverage available
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Pro API
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2024-20359
Free JSON includes basic KEV fields{
"cve_id": "CVE-2024-20359",
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 6.0,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": 0.19434,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}
Early warning alerts
Receive curator-selected alerts when exploitation activity warrants attention. Each alert includes the evidence and context needed to decide what requires attention now.