Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication · Cisco
CVE-2022-20759
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the web services interface for remote access VPN features of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, but unprivileged, remote attacker to elevate privileges to level 15. This vulnerability is due to improper separation of authentication and authorization scopes. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTPS messages to the web services interface of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain privilege level 15 access to the web management interface of the device. This includes privilege level 15 access to the device using management tools like the Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) or the Cisco Security Manager (CSM). Note: With Cisco FTD Software, the impact is lower than the CVSS score suggests because the affected web management interface allows for read access only.
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 analysisA user or process is granted a privilege it should not have, so anyone who reaches that path inherits capability beyond what was intended. Attackers seek out exactly these over-granted routes. The fix is assigning the minimum privilege required and verifying every grant explicitly rather than assuming it.
General guidance for the incorrect privilege assignment class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
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
< 6.4.0.15>= 6.5.0, < 6.6.5.2>= 6.7.0, < 7.0.2= 7.1.0
Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system
< 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, < 9.17.1.7CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 · scoped6.4.0.156.6.5.27.0.2
Cisco ASA: 9.12.4.38+ / 9.14.4+ / 9.15.1.21+ / 9.16.2.14+ | Cisco FTD: 6.4.0.15+ / 6.6.5.2+ / 7.0.2+ / 7.2.0+
- 1. Identify the current installed version of Cisco ASA Software or FTD Software using 'show version' command
- 2. For Cisco ASA Software: Upgrade to version 9.12.4.38 or later, 9.14.4 or later, 9.15.1.21 or later, or 9.16.2.14 or later depending on your release train
- 3. For Cisco FTD Software: Upgrade to version 6.4.0.15 or later, 6.6.5.2 or later, 7.0.2 or later, or any version after 7.1.0
- 4. Download the appropriate software image from the Cisco Software Download Center (software.cisco.com)
- 5. Upload the new image to the device using the 'copy' command or through the management interface
- 6. Install the upgrade using the 'install' command in privileged EXEC mode
- 7. Reload the device if required by the upgrade process
- 8. After upgrade, verify the new version is installed using 'show version'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20759 — 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-2022-20759 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
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.
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.
- 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