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Full vulnerability report · 2024
CVE-2024-20439High confidence

Cisco Smart Licensing Utility Static Credential Vulnerability

Cisco · Smart Licensing Utility

Official source article: Cisco CISCO-SA-CSLU-7GHMZWMW ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.

9.8CriticalCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Protect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2025-04-21 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityCriticalOperational priority:Critical, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
  • EPSS is 97.09% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Cisco Smart Licensing Utility and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2024-18154

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

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. 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.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 31 Mar 2025. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
9.8 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
1 linked advisory record
Recommended actionProtect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2025-04-21 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

Cisco Smart Licensing Utility contains a static credential vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected system and gain administrative credentials.

What

Cisco Smart Licensing Utility contains a static credential vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected system and gain administrative credentials.

Why

The product contains functionality that is not documented, not part of the specification, and not accessible through an interface or command sequence that is obvious to the product's users or administrators.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

Cisco Smart Licensing Utility contains a static credential vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected system and gain administrative credentials.

Why

The product contains functionality that is not documented, not part of the specification, and not accessible through an interface or command sequence that is obvious to the product's users or administrators.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2025-03-31.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Hidden Functionality → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-912 ↗

CWE-912: Hidden Functionality. The product contains functionality that is not documented, not part of the specification, and not accessible through an interface or command sequence that is obvious to the product's users or administrators.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
Stolen credentials, tokens and legitimate administration functions may provide continued access without deploying a large custom toolset.
NetworkUnauthenticatedCWE-912CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2024-18154Known-exploited evidence recorded

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. 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.

Official EUVD record ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20240911Security Bulletin 11 Sep 2024

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 11 Sep 2024, published on 11 September 2024. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2024-AVI-0739Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Cisco

De multiples vulnérabilités ont été découvertes dans les produits Cisco. Certaines d'entre elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer une élévation de privilèges, une atteinte à la confidentialité des données et un contournement de la politique de sécurité.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2024-008211シスコシステムズの Cisco Smart Licensing Utility におけるハードコードされた認証情報の使用に関する脆弱性

シスコシステムズの Cisco Smart Licensing Utility には、ハードコードされた認証情報の使用に関する脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-6435Cisco 제품 보안 업데이트 권고

Cisco Smart Licensing Utility(CSLU)에서 발생하는 하드코딩된 암호화 키 노출 취약점(CVE-2024-20439) [2]

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-6428美 CISA 발표 주요 Exploit 정보공유(Update. 2025-03-31)

Cisco Smart Licensing Utility contains a static credential vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected system and gain administrative credentials.

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix not verified
Affected
Cisco Smart License Utility: 2.1.0, 2.0.0, 2.2.0
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 4 Sept 2024 · Last source change 21 Oct 2025, 22:55 UTC · CWE-912 · Hidden Functionality

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2024-18154
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    2.1.0; 2.0.0; 2.2.0 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    Cisco Smart License Utility: 2.1.0, 2.0.0, 2.2.0 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    CNA ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2024-18154↗CISA KEV record↗CVE authority or vendor reference · Cisco CISCO-SA-CSLU-7GHMZWMW↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2024-20439 · cve.blacktree.nl