Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2013-5507
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 · uneditedThe IPsec implementation in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software 9.1 before 9.1(1.7), when an IPsec VPN tunnel is enabled, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via a (1) ICMP or (2) ICMPv6 packet that is improperly handled during decryption, aka Bug ID CSCue18975.
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 confidenceThe IPsec implementation in Cisco ASA Software 9.1 before 9.1(1.7) contains a flaw when processing ICMP or ICMPv6 packets during decryption on active IPsec VPN tunnels. Specifically, packets meeting these conditions trigger improper handling that causes the ASA device to reload, resulting in denial of service.
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
= 9.1CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine the ASA software versionRun the 'show version' command on the ASA CLI and locate the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software version line.Affected if The version begins with 9.1 but is earlier than 9.1(1.7) - for example, 9.1(1), 9.1(2), 9.1(3), 9.1(4), 9.1(5), or 9.1(6).
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Verify IPsec VPN tunnels are configuredRun the 'show crypto ipsec sa' command to display active IPsec security associations.Affected if Output shows active IPsec SAs indicating tunnels are established or negotiated.
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Check for ICMP/ICMPv6 access rules on VPN trafficRun 'show access-list' and review ACLs applied to VPN interfaces or crypto maps. Look for ICMP (protocol number 1) or ICMPv6 (protocol number 58) permit entries.Affected if ACLs permit ICMP or ICMPv6 traffic through the IPsec tunnel without filtering.
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Confirm ICMP traffic can reach the ASA via IPsecReview the tunnel configuration with 'show crypto ipsec sa' and verify the peer traffic selectors include ICMP. Alternatively, attempt to send an ICMP echo request (ping) through the tunnel from a remote endpoint.Affected if ICMP packets can traverse the active IPsec VPN tunnel to reach the ASA for decryption processing.
You are affected if your ASA runs version 9.1 before 9.1(1.7), has active IPsec VPN tunnels, and permits ICMP or ICMPv6 traffic that will be decrypted by the device.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade Cisco ASA Software to version 9.1(1.7) or later to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement ACLs on the ASA to filter or rate-limit ICMP/ICMPv6 traffic traversing the IPsec VPN tunnel as a temporary mitigation.
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
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 locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-5507 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-5507 in production — separate from our analysis above.
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
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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