Analysis Summary

CISA has warned U.S. federal agencies to secure their networks against three critical vulnerabilities (CVE-2024-13159, CVE-2024-13160, CVE-2024-13161) in Ivanti Endpoint Manager (EPM) appliances. These flaws, due to absolute path traversal weaknesses, allow remote unauthenticated attackers to fully compromise vulnerable servers.

Discovered by researchers in October and patched by Ivanti on January 13, the vulnerabilities were later exploited using proof-of-concept relay attacks. On March 11, CISA added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, mandating Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to patch them by March 31 under Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01. CISA also urges all organizations to prioritize remediation.

Ivanti has yet to update its advisory despite active exploitation warnings. Earlier this year, CISA and the FBI cautioned that attackers continue exploiting Ivanti Cloud Service Appliance (CSA) vulnerabilities patched since September. Over the past year, multiple Ivanti flaws, including zero-days, have been used in widespread attacks targeting VPN, ICS, IPS, and ZTA gateways.

Since early 2025, a China-linked espionage group (UNC5221) has exploited Ivanti Connect Secure VPN appliances using new Dryhook and Phasejam malware after successful remote code execution attacks. Ivanti provides IT management solutions to over 40,000 companies worldwide.

Impact

• Sensitive Information Disclosure

Indicators of Compromise

CVE

• CVE-2024-13159

• CVE-2024-13160

• CVE-2024-13161

Affected Vendors

• Ivanti

Affected Products

• Ivanti Endpoint Manager 2024
• Ivanti Endpoint Manager 2022 SU6

Remediation

• Refer to Ivanti Security Advisory for patch, upgrade, or suggested workaround information.
• Organizations must test their assets for the vulnerabilities mentioned above and apply the available security patch or mitigation steps as soon as possible.
• Implement multi-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security to login processes.
• Regularly monitor network activity for any unusual behavior, as this may indicate that a cyberattack is underway.
• Organizations must stay vigilant and follow best practices for cybersecurity to protect their systems and data from potential threats. This includes regularly updating software and implementing strong access controls and monitoring tools.
• Develop a comprehensive incident response plan to respond effectively in case of a security breach or data leakage.
• Maintain regular backups of critical data and systems to ensure data recovery in case of a security incident.
• Adhere to security best practices, including the principle of least privilege, and ensure that users and applications have only the necessary permissions.
• Establish a robust patch management process to ensure that security patches are evaluated, tested, and applied promptly.
• Conduct security audits and assessments to evaluate the overall security posture of your systems and networks.
• Implement network segmentation to contain and isolate potential threats to limit their impact on critical systems.