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Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication · Cisco

CVE-2022-20742

HIGH · 7.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.4.0.15 / 6.6.5.2 or later.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
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 an IPsec VPN library of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to read or modify data within an IPsec IKEv2 VPN tunnel. This vulnerability is due to an improper implementation of Galois/Counter Mode (GCM) ciphers. An attacker in a man-in-the-middle position could exploit this vulnerability by intercepting a sufficient number of encrypted messages across an affected IPsec IKEv2 VPN tunnel and then using cryptanalytic techniques to break the encryption. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to decrypt, read, modify, and re-encrypt data that is transmitted across an affected IPsec IKEv2 VPN tunnel.

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 GCM cipher implementation flaw in Cisco ASA and FTD IPsec IKEv2 VPN library allows a MITM attacker to decrypt, read, modify, and re-encrypt VPN traffic by intercepting sufficient encrypted messages and applying cryptanalytic techniques.

MitigationApply Cisco-supplied patches for ASA and FTD software; if patches unavailable, consider alternative cipher configurations or additional network controls to reduce MITM exposure.

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 Firewall Threat DefenseApplication
Affected:< 6.4.0.15>= 6.5.0, < 6.6.5.2>= 7.0.0, < 7.0.2= 7.1.0
Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system
Affected:< 9.12.4.38>= 9.13.0, < 9.14.4>= 9.15.0, < 9.15.1.21>= 9.16.0, < 9.16.2.14>= 9.17.0, < 9.17.1.7

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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 the device type
    Run 'show version' or check the device model to confirm whether the device is a Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) or Firepower Threat Defense (FTD)
    Affected if Device is not Cisco ASA or FTD - this CVE only applies to those platforms
  2. Check the software version
    Run 'show version' and locate the running software version (for ASA look for 'Cisco ASA Software', for FTD look for 'Cisco Firepower Threat Defense')
    Affected if Version falls within any of the affected ranges: ASA < 9.12.4.38, 9.13.0 to < 9.14.4, 9.15.0 to < 9.15.1.21, 9.16.0 to < 9.16.2.14, 9.17.0 to < 9.17.1.7; FTD < 6.4.0.15, 6.5.0 to < 6.6.5.2, 7.0.0 to < 7.0.2, or 7.1.0 exactly
  3. Verify IKEv2 VPN is configured
    Run 'show crypto ikev2 sa' or 'show running-config crypto' to check for active IKEv2 security associations or IKEv2 crypto configuration
    Affected if No IKEv2 VPN tunnels are configured - the vulnerability requires active IKEv2 negotiations
  4. Confirm GCM cipher is in use
    Run 'show crypto ipsec sa' or 'show crypto ikev2 sa detail' and look for 'AES-GCM' or 'GCM' in the encryption algorithm column for active IPsec SAs
    Affected if GCM-based encryption is NOT being used - the flaw is specific to GCM cipher implementations

You are affected if your device is Cisco ASA or FTD, runs a vulnerable version, has IKEv2 VPN configured, and uses GCM encryption for IPsec tunnels.

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 6.4.0.15 / 6.6.5.2 / 7.0.2 or later
Fixed in 6.4.0.156.6.5.27.0.2
Interim mitigation

Apply Cisco-supplied patches for ASA and FTD software; if patches unavailable, consider alternative cipher configurations or additional network controls to reduce MITM exposure.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the fixed release in your current version line (e.g., FTD 6.4.0.15+, 6.6.5.2+, 7.0.2+, 7.1.1+ | ASA 9.12.4.38+, 9.14.4+, 9.15.1.21+, 9.16.2.14+)

  1. 1. Identify the current Cisco ASA or FTD software version using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Based on the current version line, determine the appropriate fixed release: For FTD 6.4.x upgrade to 6.4.0.15+, for FTD 6.5.x-6.6.x upgrade to 6.6.5.2+, for FTD 7.0.x upgrade to 7.0.2+, for FTD 7.1.x upgrade to 7.1.1+
  3. 3. For ASA 9.12.x upgrade to 9.12.4.38+, for ASA 9.13.x-9.14.x upgrade to 9.14.4+, for ASA 9.15.x upgrade to 9.15.1.21+, for ASA 9.16.x upgrade to 9.16.2.14+
  4. 4. Download the appropriate fixed software image from Cisco.com (requires valid service contract)
  5. 5. Upload the new image to the device using 'copy' command or through the management interface
  6. 6. Install the upgrade using 'install' command (FTD) or reload the device with new image (ASA)
  7. 7. Verify successful installation with 'show version' confirming the new fixed version is running
Caveat Cisco platform upgrades typically require compatibility verification with existing configurations and may need planned downtime; ensure valid Cisco service contract for image access

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

Fix this in Secure Firewall Threat Defense Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,160
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-20742 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data