Adaptive Security Appliance 5500Hardware / appliance · Cisco
CVE-2008-2733
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedCisco PIX and Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) 5500 devices 7.2 before 7.2(4)2, 8.0 before 8.0(3)14, and 8.1 before 8.1(1)4, when configured as a client VPN endpoint, do not properly process IPSec client authentication, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via a crafted authentication attempt, aka Bug ID CSCso69942.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceCisco PIX and ASA 5500 devices configured as client VPN endpoints have a vulnerability in IPSec client authentication processing. Remote attackers can send crafted authentication attempts that cause the device to reload, resulting in denial of service.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Adaptive Security Appliance 5500Hardware / appliance
= 7.2= 8.0= 8.1
PixHardware / appliance
= 7.2= 8.0= 8.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify device modelUse 'show version' or check physical device labeling to confirm the hardware is a Cisco PIX or ASA 5500 series applianceAffected if Device is a Cisco PIX or ASA 5500 series
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Check software versionRun 'show version' and locate the software release number displayed in the outputAffected if Version shown is 7.2 any minor release, 8.0 any minor release, or 8.1 any minor release
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Verify client VPN is configuredExamine the running configuration for IPSec remote access VPN settings, or use 'show vpn-sessiondb remote' to list active remote access VPN sessionsAffected if IPSec client VPN (remote access VPN) is enabled or has been used
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Review for device reload eventsCheck system logs and 'show crashinfo' or 'show reload' for unexpected reloads, particularly around times of failed VPN authentication attemptsAffected if Device has reloaded without scheduled maintenance or after VPN authentication anomalies
The environment is affected if the device is a Cisco PIX or ASA 5500 series running software version 7.2, 8.0, or 8.1 AND has IPSec client VPN functionality enabled.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade Cisco PIX/ASA to version 7.2(4)2, 8.0(3)14, 8.1(1)4 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, consider restricting VPN access through additional controls or monitoring for anomalous authentication patterns.
Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance 5500
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-2733 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-2733 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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