CVE-2024-21887: Ivanti Connect Secure RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2024-21887 Overview

A command injection vulnerability in web components of Ivanti Connect Secure (9.x, 22.x) and Ivanti Policy Secure (9.x, 22.x) allows an authenticated administrator to send specially crafted requests and execute arbitrary commands on the appliance.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability permits remote code execution, allowing an attacker full control over the affected systems, leading to potential data breaches and system disruption.

Affected Products

• Ivanti Connect Secure 9.x
• Ivanti Policy Secure 9.x
• Ivanti Connect Secure 22.x

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-01-12 - CVE CVE-2024-21887 published to NVD
• 2025-10-31 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-21887

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the command execution flow within the web components of the affected Ivanti products. An authenticated administrator can exploit this flaw by injecting malicious commands that the appliance executes without any validation.

Root Cause

Improper validation of user-supplied input in the web interface allows command injection, leading to arbitrary command execution in the application context.

Attack Vector

The attack is initiated over a network, where an authenticated administrator sends a specially crafted HTTP request to exploit the command injection flaw.

# Example exploitation code (sanitized)
POST /admin/command HTTP/1.1
Host: vulnerable.example.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

command=;malicious_command;

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-21887

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected commands executed on appliances
• Logs showing irregular HTTP requests to management interfaces
• Unusual administrative activities outside of standard operation hours

Detection Strategies

Monitor web server logs for HTTP requests containing unexpected shell metacharacters or patterns indicating command injection attempts. Use network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) to capture and analyze suspicious network traffic targeting administrative interfaces.

Monitoring Recommendations

Implement continuous log analysis to spot anomalies in HTTP requests and system command execution logs. Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions like SentinelOne to actively monitor and alert on suspicious activities within the network.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-21887

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict administrative access to trusted IPs only.
• Disable any unused administrative interfaces.
• Monitor logs for anomalies and escalate suspicious findings immediately.

Patch Information

Ivanti has released patches to address this vulnerability. It is critical to apply these patches immediately to all affected versions. Refer to Ivanti's vendor advisory for detailed patch information.

Workarounds

Until patches can be applied, administrators should limit network access to the management interfaces and utilize VPN solutions to create a secure channel for administrator connections.

# Configuration example
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -s TRUSTED_IP --dport 80 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP