A vulnerability in the process of uploading new application images to Cisco FXOS on the Cisco Firepower 4100 Series Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) and Firepower 9300 Security Appliance could allow an authenticated, remote attacker using path traversal techniques to create or overwrite arbitrary files on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation during the application image upload process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating an application image containing malicious code and installing the image on the affected device using the CLI or web-based user interface (web UI).

These actions occur prior to signature verification and could allow the attacker to create and execute arbitrary code with root privileges. Note: A missing or invalid signature in the application image will cause the upload process to fail, but does not prevent the exploit. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvc21901.