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Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2012-0358

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-03-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Buffer overflow in the Cisco Port Forwarder ActiveX control in cscopf.ocx, as distributed through the Clientless VPN feature on Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 series devices with software 7.0 through 7.2 before 7.2(5.6), 8.0 before 8.0(5.26), 8.1 before 8.1(2.53), 8.2 before 8.2(5.18), 8.3 before 8.3(2.28), 8.2 before 8.4(2.16), and 8.6 before 8.6(1.1), allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, aka Bug ID CSCtr00165.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the Cisco Port Forwarder ActiveX control (cscopf.ocx) used in the Clientless VPN feature of Cisco ASA 5500 series devices. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by overflowing a buffer in the ActiveX control through unspecified vectors.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco ASA software to the fixed versions (7.2(5.6), 8.0(5.26), 8.1(2.53), 8.2(5.18), 8.3(2.28), 8.4(2.16), or 8.6(1.1) or later). If immediate patching is not possible, disable the Clientless VPN feature or implement network-level 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 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

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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/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 ASA software version
    Log into the ASA CLI and run 'show version' or check the firmware version through ASDM. Look for the adaptive security appliance software version number.
    Affected if The installed version is 7.0.x (any of 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) or if it is any version on the Cisco 5500 Series ASA hardware.
  2. Verify Clientless VPN is enabled
    Check the ASA configuration by running 'show run webvpn' in the CLI, or navigate to Configuration > Clientless SSL VPN in ASDM. Look for 'webvpn enable' configuration.
    Affected if Clientless SSL VPN (webvpn) is enabled on any interface accessible to untrusted networks.
  3. Confirm Port Forwarder feature is active
    In the ASA CLI, run 'show webvpn' and check for port forwarder settings, or review the group policy/webvpn configuration for 'port-forward' entries. The vulnerable component is the cscopf.ocx ActiveX control used for port forwarding.
    Affected if Port forwarding (port-forward) is configured within the Clientless VPN policies.
  4. Check external accessibility
    From an external network perspective, determine if the ASA webvpn portal is reachable on the outside interface. Test connectivity to TCP port 443 (or configured VPN port) from an untrusted network.
    Affected if The ASA webvpn interface is exposed to untrusted networks (typically the outside/Internet-facing interface).

A user is affected if their Cisco ASA device runs a vulnerable 7.0.x version or any version on 5500 Series hardware, AND has Clientless VPN with port forwarding enabled and accessible from untrusted networks.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Cisco ASA software to the fixed versions (7.2(5.6), 8.0(5.26), 8.1(2.53), 8.2(5.18), 8.3(2.28), 8.4(2.16), or 8.6(1.1) or later). If immediate patching is not possible, disable the Clientless VPN feature or implement network-level access controls to limit exposure to untrusted networks.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the fixed version in your current software branch (7.2(5.6), 8.0(5.26), 8.1(2.53), 8.2(5.18), 8.3(2.28), 8.4(2.16), or 8.6(1.1) or later from Cisco

  1. 1. Identify the current Cisco ASA software version by running 'show version' on the device
  2. 2. Determine the current software branch (7.x, 8.0.x, 8.1.x, 8.2.x, 8.3.x, 8.4.x, or 8.6.x) from the version number
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed software version from Cisco's software download center: 7.2(5.6), 8.0(5.26), 8.1(2.53), 8.2(5.18), 8.3(2.28), 8.4(2.16), or 8.6(1.1)
  4. 4. Upload the new software image to the ASA using the 'copy' command or through the ASDM interface
  5. 5. Reboot the ASA to load the new software image using the 'reload' command
  6. 6. After reboot, verify the new version is installed with 'show version'
  7. 7. Consider disabling the Clientless VPN feature if not needed, or ensure the webvpn configuration is properly secured
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for your version for any configuration changes or behavioral differences; ensure compatibility with any VPN clients or integrations before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2012-0358 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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