dbcve.org
Adaptive Security Appliance 5500Hardware / appliance · Cisco

CVE-2008-2735

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-09-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
The HTTP server in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) 5500 devices 8.0 before 8.0(3)15 and 8.1 before 8.1(1)5, when configured as a clientless SSL VPN endpoint, does not properly process URIs, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via a URI in a crafted SSL or HTTP packet, aka Bug ID CSCsq19369.

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 confidence

The HTTP server in Cisco ASA 5500 devices running versions 8.0 before 8.0(3)15 and 8.1 before 8.1(1)5 contains a URI processing vulnerability when configured as a clientless SSL VPN endpoint. Remote attackers can send crafted SSL or HTTP packets containing malformed URIs to trigger a device reload (denial of service).

MitigationUpgrade Cisco ASA firmware to version 8.0(3)15 or 8.1(1)5 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling clientless SSL VPN or implementing network access controls to limit exposure to untrusted networks.

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
Affected:= 8.0= 8.1

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine the ASA firmware version
    Log into the ASA CLI and run the command 'show version' to display the running software version. Look for the version number in the output (for example, 8.0(1) or 8.1(1)).
    Affected if The version is 8.0.x before 8.0(3)15, or 8.1.x before 8.1(1)5.
  2. Verify if the HTTP server is enabled
    Run the command 'show running-config | include http server' in the ASA CLI. Alternatively, check 'show running-config http' to see HTTP server settings.
    Affected if The HTTP server is enabled (http server enable is present in the configuration).
  3. Confirm clientless SSL VPN is configured
    Run the command 'show running-config webvpn' in the ASA CLI to display the clientless SSL VPN configuration. Look for 'webvpn' configuration blocks and 'enable' statements.
    Affected if Clientless SSL VPN is enabled (webvpn is configured and enabled on one or more interfaces).
  4. Check which interfaces have webvpn enabled
    Run 'show webvpn' and 'show running-config interface' to see which interfaces have the 'webvpn enable' command applied.
    Affected if Webvpn is enabled on any interface, particularly on external or untrusted interfaces accessible from the internet.

The environment is affected if the ASA runs version 8.0 before 8.0(3)15 or version 8.1 before 8.1(1)5 AND has clientless SSL VPN enabled with the HTTP server active.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Cisco ASA firmware to version 8.0(3)15 or 8.1(1)5 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling clientless SSL VPN or implementing network access controls to limit exposure to untrusted networks.

Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance 5500 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-2735 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-2735 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data