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Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2012-4661

HIGH · 9.0 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 →
99/100
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
Stack-based buffer overflow in the DCERPC 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 8.3 before 8.3(2.34), 8.4 before 8.4(4.4), 8.5 before 8.5(1.13), and 8.6 before 8.6(1.3) and the Firewall Services Module (FWSM) 4.1 before 4.1(9) in Cisco Catalyst 6500 series switches and 7600 series routers might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted DCERPC packet, aka Bug IDs CSCtr21359 and CSCtr27522.

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

Stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Cisco ASA and FWSM DCERPC inspection engine allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted DCERPC packets. Affected devices running vulnerable 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, and 8.6 software versions, plus FWSM 4.1, are susceptible to remote code execution without authentication.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco ASA software to 8.3(2.34), 8.4(4.4), 8.5(1.13), or 8.6(1.3) or later, and FWSM to 4.1(9) or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling DCERPC inspection if not required for business operations.

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:= 8.3\(1\)= 8.3\(2\)= 8.4= 8.4\(1\)= 8.4\(1.11\)= 8.4\(2\)= 8.4\(2.11\)= 8.5= 8.5\(1\)= 8.5\(1.4\)= 8.6= 8.6\(1\)
5500 Series Adaptive Security ApplianceHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
7600 RouterHardware / 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

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
Partial
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:P/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 ASA or FWSM software version
    Run the command 'show version' on the device CLI to display the running software version
    Affected if The version matches one of the affected versions: 8.3(1), 8.3(2), 8.4, 8.4(1), 8.4(1.11), 8.4(2), 8.4(2.11), 8.5, 8.5(1), 8.5(1.4), 8.6, or 8.6(1)
  2. Confirm the device model
    Run 'show version' to identify the hardware platform (ASA 5500 Series, 7600 Router, or Catalyst 6500 Series)
    Affected if The device is a Cisco ASA 5500 Series, Cisco 7600 Router, or Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series running the vulnerable software versions listed above
  3. Check if DCERPC inspection is enabled
    Run 'show service-policy | include dcerpc' or 'show running-config | include inspect dcerpc' to see if DCERPC inspection is configured
    Affected if DCERPC inspection is enabled on one or more interfaces (the vulnerability only applies when DCERPC inspection is active)
  4. List all enabled inspections
    Run 'show service-policy inspect' to view all active inspection policies
    Affected if DCERPC inspection appears in the active inspection list

A device is affected if it runs a vulnerable ASA/FWSM version (8.3.x through 8.6.x) AND has DCERPC inspection enabled on any 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.

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

Upgrade Cisco ASA software to 8.3(2.34), 8.4(4.4), 8.5(1.13), or 8.6(1.3) or later, and FWSM to 4.1(9) or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling DCERPC inspection if not required for business operations.

Recommended fix High confidence

ASA 8.3(2.34), 8.4(4.4), 8.5(1.13), 8.6(1.3) or later; FWSM 4.1(9) or later

  1. 1. Identify the current ASA software version using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate target version based on your current train (8.3, 8.4, 8.5, or 8.6)
  3. 3. For ASA 8.3.x: upgrade to 8.3(2.34) or later
  4. 4. For ASA 8.4.x: upgrade to 8.4(4.4) or later
  5. 5. For ASA 8.5.x: upgrade to 8.5(1.13) or later
  6. 6. For ASA 8.6.x: upgrade to 8.6(1.3) or later
  7. 7. For FWSM: upgrade to 4.1(9) or later
  8. 8. Download the appropriate Cisco software image from cisco.com (requires valid service contract)
Caveat Software upgrade may introduce behavioral changes; always test in lab environment first and review release notes for compatibility concerns with existing configurations and features

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

Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
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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-2012-4661 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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