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AsaApplication · Cisco

CVE-2014-3389

HIGH · 9.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-10-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 VPN implementation in Cisco ASA Software 7.2 before 7.2(5.15), 8.2 before 8.2(5.51), 8.3 before 8.3(2.42), 8.4 before 8.4(7.23), 8.6 before 8.6(1.15), 9.0 before 9.0(4.24), 9.1 before 9.1(5.12), 9.2 before 9.2(2.6), and 9.3 before 9.3(1.1) does not properly implement a tunnel filter, which allows remote authenticated users to obtain failover-unit access via crafted packets, aka Bug ID CSCuq28582.

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 VPN tunnel filter implementation in Cisco ASA Software contains a flaw that allows authenticated remote users to bypass intended access restrictions and gain unauthorized access to failover unit infrastructure via specifically crafted packets. This represents a privilege escalation vulnerability in the VPN subsystem.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco ASA Software to version 7.2(5.15), 8.2(5.51), 8.3(2.42), 8.4(7.23), 8.6(1.15), 9.0(4.24), 9.1(5.12), 9.2(2.6), or 9.3(1.1) or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict VPN access to trusted users and monitor for anomalous failover-unit access attempts.

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
AsaApplication
Affected:= 7.2.5= 7.2.5.10= 8.2.5= 8.2.5.13= 8.2.5.22= 8.2.5.26= 8.2.5.33= 8.2.5.41= 8.2.5.46= 8.2.5.48= 8.2.5.49= 8.3

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
Single
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/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. Determine Cisco ASA software version
    Execute the command 'show version' on the ASA CLI and locate the software version string (typically displayed in the first few lines)
    Affected if The version matches one of the following: 7.2.5, 7.2.5.10, 8.2.5, 8.2.5.13, 8.2.5.22, 8.2.5.26, 8.2.5.33, 8.2.5.41, 8.2.5.46, 8.2.5.48, 8.2.5.49, or 8.3.x
  2. Identify VPN tunnel filter configuration
    Execute 'show run | include tunnel-filter' or 'show run all tunnel-filter' to display any configured tunnel filters
    Affected if Any tunnel-filter configuration entries are returned, indicating the vulnerable feature is active
  3. Verify active VPN tunnel-group configurations
    Execute 'show run tunnel-group' to list all configured tunnel groups, and review whether any tunnel-group includes tunnel-filter policy attachments
    Affected if Tunnel groups exist and are associated with tunnel-filter policies that govern packet filtering for VPN sessions
  4. Confirm VPN access control list bindings
    Review the configuration with 'show run | include access-list' and cross-reference with tunnel-filter applied to VPN interfaces using 'show run interface' or 'show vpn-sessiondb'
    Affected if VPN access-lists or filter policies are bound to VPN tunnel interfaces, enabling the bypass condition for authenticated remote users

You are affected if your Cisco ASA runs any of the listed vulnerable versions AND has VPN tunnel-filter policies configured, which allows authenticated remote users to escalate privileges and access failover unit infrastructure.

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 version 7.2(5.15), 8.2(5.51), 8.3(2.42), 8.4(7.23), 8.6(1.15), 9.0(4.24), 9.1(5.12), 9.2(2.6), or 9.3(1.1) or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict VPN access to trusted users and monitor for anomalous failover-unit access attempts.

Recommended fix High confidence

ASA 7.2.x → 7.2(5.15)+; ASA 8.2.x → 8.2(5.51)+ (or migrate to newer branches 8.4/9.x for additional features)

  1. 1. Identify current ASA software version using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate fixed release based on your current version branch from Cisco advisory CVE-2014-3389
  3. 3. For ASA 7.2.x: upgrade to 7.2(5.15) or later
  4. 4. For ASA 8.2.x: upgrade to 8.2(5.51) or later
  5. 5. For newer branches, upgrade to 8.4(7.23), 9.0(4.24), 9.1(5.12), 9.2(2.6), or 9.3(1.1) respectively as listed in the advisory
  6. 6. Back up the current ASA configuration before upgrading
  7. 7. Test the upgrade in a lab/staging environment if possible
  8. 8. Download the fixed software from Cisco.com (requires valid service contract)
Caveat Point releases typically have minimal breaking changes; ensure compatibility with existing VPN configurations and test thoroughly before production deployment

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

Fix this in Asa Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2014-3389 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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