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Fencer Vulns
critical 9.8

CVE-2024-20439 kev in the critical feed json

A vulnerability in Cisco Smart Licensing Utility (CSLU) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log into an affected system by u…

published 2024-09-04 2 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2024-18154

cvss
9.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Exploited
added 2025-03-31
epss
97.1%
EPSS 97.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 99.8%
public exploits
0
none known, plus a Nuclei check

Summary

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.

Patch / fix

cisa required action Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

  • cisco smart_license_utility 2.3.0

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Added to CISA KEV
  3. CISA SSVC: exploitation active
  4. CISA patch deadline

Known exploited

Added
19 mo ago
Patch by
2025-04-21 (18 mo ago)
Ransomware
Not known
Required action
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Vendor, product
Cisco, Smart Licensing Utility
CISA name
Cisco Smart Licensing Utility Static Credential Vulnerability

ATT&CK techniques

How it is exploited and what it leads to, in MITRE ATT&CK terms.

  • T1552 Unsecured Credentials exploitation
  • T1106 Native API primary impact

kev release 2025-07-28, att&ck v16.1. KEV to ATT&CK mappings by the MITRE Center for Threat-Informed Defense (Mappings Explorer, Apache-2.0). © 2026 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation. Terms of use

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
Active, exploited in the wild
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total
Assessed
19 mo ago

Exploit prediction

97.09% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.8% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

  • Nuclei template Hardcoded Admin Credentials For Cisco Smart Licensing Utility API nuclei detection template

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

  • Cisco Cisco Smart License Utility
  • cisco cisco_smart_license_utility

Classification

Weakness

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.