Asa 5500 X Series Ips Ssp SoftwareApplication · Cisco

CVE-2013-1243

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-07-18

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.1 or later.

See remediation →

87/100

Remediation priority · High

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

The IP stack in Cisco Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) Software in ASA 5500-X IPS-SSP software and hardware modules before 7.1(5)E4, IPS 4500 sensors before 7.1(6)E4, and IPS 4300 sensors before 7.1(5)E4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (MainApp process hang) via malformed IPv4 packets, aka Bug ID CSCtx18596.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A vulnerability exists in the IP stack of Cisco Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) Software across multiple sensor platforms (ASA 5500-X IPS-SSP, IPS 4500, and IPS 4300). Processing malformed IPv4 packets triggers a denial of service condition causing the MainApp process to hang. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely without authentication, making it a high-severity issue.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco IPS Software to version 7.1(5)E4 (or later for IPS 4500: 7.1(6)E4) on affected ASA 5500-X IPS-SSP, IPS 4500, and IPS 4300 sensors to address the malformed packet handling flaw in the IP stack.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Asa 5500 X Series Ips Ssp SoftwareApplication

Affected:= 7.1

Intrusion Prevention SystemApplication

Affected:<= 7.1

Asa 5585 XHardware / appliance

Affected:all versions

Idsm 2Hardware / appliance

Affected:all versions

Ips 4345 SensorHardware / appliance

Affected:all versions

Ips 4360 SensorHardware / appliance

Affected:all versions

Ips 4510 SensorHardware / appliance

Affected:all versions

Ips 4520 SensorHardware / appliance

Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown

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?

dbcve checks

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

Identify your Cisco IPS sensor model

Run 'show version' or 'show module' on the device to confirm the exact hardware model (ASA 5500-X IPS-SSP, ASA 5585-X, IDSM2, IPS 4345, IPS 4360, IPS 4510, or IPS 4520)

Affected if The device model matches any of the following: ASA 5500-X IPS-SSP, ASA 5585-X, IDSM2, IPS 4345, IPS 4360, IPS 4510, or IPS 4520
Check the installed software version

Run 'show version' or 'show ips version' to retrieve the Cisco IPS Software version number

Affected if The version is 7.1 (exactly) for ASA 5500-X IPS-SSP, or <= 7.1 for generic Cisco IPS, or any version for ASA 5585-X, IDSM2, or IPS 43xx/45xx/45xx sensors (these are listed as all versions)
Confirm the IPS sensor is active and licensed

Run 'show ips' or 'show ips sensor mode' to verify the sensor is enabled and actively processing traffic

Affected if The sensor shows as active, licensed, and running - the vulnerability only triggers when malformed IPv4 packets are processed by the IP stack

You are affected if your device is any Cisco IPS sensor model listed above AND your software version falls within the affected ranges AND the IPS sensor functionality is enabled and processing traffic.

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

Remediation

From vendor data

Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 7.1

Interim mitigation

Upgrade Cisco IPS Software to version 7.1(5)E4 (or later for IPS 4500: 7.1(6)E4) on affected ASA 5500-X IPS-SSP, IPS 4500, and IPS 4300 sensors to address the malformed packet handling flaw in the IP stack.

Fix this in Asa 5500 X Series Ips Ssp 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

Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-1243 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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References

Primary sources

tools.cisco.comVendor Advisory
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-1243 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2013-1243?

The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.

The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
A config change or rule that shut the vector down
A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 7.1 or later

Severity 7.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 1.3%

Affects: Asa 5500 X Series Ips Ssp Software

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Asa 5500 X Series Ips Ssp Software 10 hrs · Low

Typical engagement from $1,750

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2013-1243 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References