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Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2012-4660

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-10-29
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
The SIP inspection engine on Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 series devices, and the ASA Services Module (ASASM) in Cisco Catalyst 6500 series devices, with software 8.2 before 8.2(5.17), 8.3 before 8.3(2.28), 8.4 before 8.4(2.13), 8.5 before 8.5(1.4), and 8.6 before 8.6(1.5) allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via a crafted SIP media-update packet, aka Bug ID CSCtr63728.

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 SIP inspection engine in Cisco ASA 5500 series devices and ASA Services Module contains a vulnerability where specially crafted SIP media-update packets can cause the device to reload, resulting in denial of service. The vulnerability affects multiple software branches (8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6) prior to their respective patched releases.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco ASA software to version 8.2(5.17), 8.3(2.28), 8.4(2.13), 8.5(1.4), 8.6(1.5) or later. If SIP inspection is not required, it can be disabled as a workaround.

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:= 8.2= 8.2\(1\)= 8.2\(2\)= 8.2\(3\)= 8.2\(3.9\)= 8.2\(4\)= 8.2\(4.1\)= 8.2\(4.4\)= 8.2\(5\)= 8.3\(1\)= 8.3\(2\)= 8.4
5500 Series Adaptive Security ApplianceHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6500Hardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6503 EHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6504 EHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6506 EHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6509 EHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6509 Neb AHardware / 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 the device model
    Run 'show version' or check the device hardware to confirm it is a Cisco ASA 5500 Series, ASA Services Module, or Cisco Catalyst 6500 series device.
    Affected if The device is one of the listed affected models (ASA 5500 series, ASA Services Module, or Catalyst 6500 series).
  2. Check the installed software version
    Run 'show version' on the ASA CLI to display the running Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software version.
    Affected if The version matches or falls within 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, or 8.6 branches before the patched releases (8.2(5.17), 8.3(2.28), 8.4(2.13), 8.5(1.4), 8.6(1.5)).
  3. Determine if SIP inspection is enabled
    Run 'show service-policy | include sip' or examine the running configuration with 'show run | include inspect sip' to check for any SIP inspection policy.
    Affected if SIP inspection is enabled (the device will process SIP traffic with inspection).
  4. Check for SIP inspection applied to an interface
    Run 'show service-policy interface' or review the configuration for 'class-map' and 'policy-map' definitions that apply 'inspect sip' to traffic interfaces.
    Affected if SIP inspection is applied to an interface or traffic class.

The device is affected if it is an affected model, runs an affected software version, and has SIP inspection enabled on an interface.

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 8.2(5.17), 8.3(2.28), 8.4(2.13), 8.5(1.4), 8.6(1.5) or later. If SIP inspection is not required, it can be disabled as a workaround.

Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,330
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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-2012-4660 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