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Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2011-3299

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-10-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
87/100
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
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 series devices, and the ASA Services module in Cisco Catalyst 6500 series devices, with software 7.0 before 7.0(8.13), 7.1 and 7.2 before 7.2(5.4), 8.0 before 8.0(5.25), 8.1 and 8.2 before 8.2(5.11), 8.3 before 8.3(2.23), 8.4 before 8.4(2.6), and 8.5 before 8.5(1.1) and Cisco Firewall Services Module (aka FWSM) 3.1 before 3.1(21), 3.2 before 3.2(22), 4.0 before 4.0(16), and 4.1 before 4.1(7) allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via crafted SunRPC traffic, aka Bug IDs CSCto92380 and CSCtq09972.

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

Cisco ASA 5500 series and FWSM devices contain a vulnerability in the SunRPC inspection handling code. Remote attackers can send specially crafted SunRPC packets to the device, causing it to reload unexpectedly. This is a Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerability requiring no authentication.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco ASA software to version 7.0(8.13), 7.2(5.4), 8.0(5.25), 8.2(5.11), 8.3(2.23), 8.4(2.6), 8.5(1.1) or later; FWSM to 3.1(21), 3.2(22), 4.0(16), or 4.1(7) or later. As a workaround, block SunRPC (port 111) traffic at the perimeter.

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 SoftwareOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 7.0\(0\)= 7.0\(1\)= 7.0\(2\)= 7.0\(4\)= 7.0\(5\)= 7.0\(5.2\)= 7.0\(6\)= 7.0\(6.7\)= 7.0\(7\)= 7.0\(8\)= 7.0.1
5500 Series Adaptive Security ApplianceHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Asa 5500Hardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Firewall Services Module SoftwarePlugin / extension
Affected:= 3.1= 3.1\(2\)= 3.1\(3\)= 3.1\(4\)= 3.1\(5\)= 3.1\(6\)= 3.1\(7\)= 3.1\(8\)= 3.1\(9\)= 3.1\(10\)= 3.1\(11\)= 3.1\(12\)
Catalyst 6500Hardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 7600Hardware / appliance
Affected:all versions

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/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. Identify device model
    Use 'show version' or 'show hardware' command to confirm the device is a Cisco ASA 5500 series, ASA 5500-X series, or Firewall Services Module (FWSM) running on Catalyst 6500/7600
    Affected if Device is an ASA 5500 series, ASA 5500-X series, or FWSM on Catalyst 6500/7600
  2. Check ASA software version
    Execute 'show version' and locate the 'Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software' version line. Compare against affected 7.0.x versions or note that all versions of ASA 5500 are affected
    Affected if Version is 7.0.x (specifically 7.0 through 7.0.1) or any version of Cisco ASA 5500 series
  3. Check FWSM software version
    Execute 'show version' on the FWSM and compare against affected 3.1.x versions (3.1 through 3.1(12))
    Affected if FWSM version is 3.1.x through 3.1(12)
  4. Verify SunRPC inspection is enabled
    Execute 'show service-policy' or examine the running configuration for 'inspect sunrpc' applied to an interface or traffic class
    Affected if SunRPC inspection is configured and active on an interface

Device is affected if it is an ASA 5500 series or FWSM with a vulnerable software version AND SunRPC inspection is enabled in the configuration

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 software to version 7.0(8.13), 7.2(5.4), 8.0(5.25), 8.2(5.11), 8.3(2.23), 8.4(2.6), 8.5(1.1) or later; FWSM to 3.1(21), 3.2(22), 4.0(16), or 4.1(7) or later. As a workaround, block SunRPC (port 111) traffic at the perimeter.

Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2011-3299 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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