dbcve.org
Secure Access Control ServerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2013-3466

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-08-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.2.1.15.10 or later.
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
The EAP-FAST authentication module in Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) 4.x before 4.2.1.15.11, when a RADIUS server configuration is enabled, does not properly parse user identities, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via crafted EAP-FAST packets, aka Bug ID CSCui57636.

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

A command injection vulnerability exists in the EAP-FAST authentication module of Cisco Secure ACS 4.x (before 4.2.1.15.11) when RADIUS server configuration is enabled. The module fails to properly validate/parse user identities in EAP-FAST packets, allowing remote attackers to inject and execute arbitrary commands via specially crafted packets.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco Secure ACS to version 4.2.1.15.11 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, consider disabling EAP-FAST authentication or restricting network access to the RADIUS servers.

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
Secure Access Control ServerApplication
Affected:<= 4.2.1.15.10= 4.2.1.15.0= 4.2.1.15.1= 4.2.1.15.2= 4.2.1.15.3= 4.2.1.15.4= 4.2.1.15.6= 4.2.1.15.7= 4.2.1.15.8= 4.2.1.15.9

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 Cisco Secure ACS version
    Log into the ACS web interface and navigate to System Administration > Operations > About or use the CLI command 'show version' to view the installed ACS version.
    Affected if The version is 4.2.1.15.10 or earlier, or specifically 4.2.1.15.0 through 4.2.1.15.10 as listed in affected versions.
  2. Confirm RADIUS server configuration is enabled
    In the ACS web interface, navigate to Network Configuration > RADIUS Server or check via CLI with 'show running-config radius' to verify a RADIUS server is configured and active.
    Affected if A RADIUS server configuration exists and is enabled - this is a required condition for the vulnerability to be exploitable.
  3. Verify EAP-FAST authentication is in use
    In the ACS web interface, go to Access Policies > Default Network Access > EAP Methods or check the active EAP methods configuration to see if EAP-FAST is enabled.
    Affected if EAP-FAST authentication method is enabled or configured for any access policy.

The environment is affected if Cisco Secure ACS version is 4.2.1.15.10 or earlier AND a RADIUS server is configured with EAP-FAST authentication enabled.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.2.1.15.10
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Cisco Secure ACS to version 4.2.1.15.11 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, consider disabling EAP-FAST authentication or restricting network access to the RADIUS servers.

Recommended fix High confidence

Cisco Secure Access Control Server 4.2.1.15.11 or later

  1. Confirm current installed version of Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) 4.x
  2. Download Cisco Secure Access Control Server version 4.2.1.15.11 or later from the Cisco download portal or via your Cisco contract
  3. Review Cisco ACS 4.x upgrade documentation before proceeding
  4. Execute upgrade following Cisco standard upgrade procedures for ACS 4.x
  5. After upgrade, verify the EAP-FAST authentication module is functioning correctly
  6. Confirm the new version is 4.2.1.15.11 or higher
Caveat Review Cisco upgrade notes for ACS 4.x - major version upgrades may have configuration or compatibility considerations

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

Fix this in Secure Access Control Server 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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-3466 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2013-3466 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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