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Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2017-12246

HIGH · 8.6 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-10-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
95/100
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
A vulnerability in the implementation of the direct authentication feature in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to unexpectedly reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to incomplete input validation of the HTTP header. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to the local IP address of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload. This vulnerability affects Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software that is running on the following Cisco products: ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances, ASA 5500-X Series Next-Generation Firewalls, ASA Services Module for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches and Cisco 7600 Series Routers, ASA 1000V Cloud Firewall, Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance (ASAv), Firepower 4110 Security Appliance, Firepower 9300 ASA Security Module, ISA 3000 Industrial Security Appliance. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvd59063.

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 vulnerability in Cisco ASA Software's direct authentication feature stems from incomplete input validation of HTTP headers. An unauthenticated, remote attacker can send a crafted HTTP request to the local IP address of an affected device, causing an unexpected reload and denial of service condition.

MitigationApply the appropriate Cisco ASA Software update addressing CVE-2017-12246. Until patched, limit exposure by restricting HTTP management access to trusted networks or disable the HTTP server feature on the ASA if not required.

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:= 9.4\(3\)= 9.7\(1\)= 9.8\(0.56\)

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

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 the installed Cisco ASA software version
    Access the ASA console or SSH and run the command: show version. Look for the software version number in the output.
    Affected if The version shown is exactly 9.4(3), 9.7(1), or 9.8(0.56). Note: Other versions in the 9.4, 9.7, or 9.8 families may also be affected if they fall within the same release train and share the vulnerable code path.
  2. Verify if the ASA HTTP server feature is enabled
    Run: show running-config | include http server. Alternatively, use show running-config http to confirm HTTP server configuration.
    Affected if The output shows http server enable or similar, indicating the HTTP management interface is active on the ASA.
  3. Confirm HTTP server binding to interfaces
    Run: show running-config | include http (or show http) to list which interface IP addresses the HTTP server is listening on.
    Affected if The HTTP server is bound to any interface IP address, particularly the 'inside' or management interface, making it reachable for remote requests.
  4. Check for existing HTTP management access lists
    Run: show running-config | include http access-list, or examine the access-list applied to the HTTP server to see allowed source networks.
    Affected if The HTTP server is reachable from untrusted or any networks (0.0.0.0/0 or non-restricted ACLs), increasing exposure to unauthenticated attackers.

You are affected if your ASA runs version 9.4(3), 9.7(1), or 9.8(0.56) AND the HTTP server feature is enabled and accessible to the attacker.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the appropriate Cisco ASA Software update addressing CVE-2017-12246. Until patched, limit exposure by restricting HTTP management access to trusted networks or disable the HTTP server feature on the ASA if not required.

Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2017-12246 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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