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Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2022-20927

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.7.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A vulnerability in the SSL/TLS client of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper memory management when a device initiates SSL/TLS connections. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by ensuring that the device will connect to an SSL/TLS server that is using specific encryption parameters. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to unexpectedly reload, resulting in a DoS condition.

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 memory management vulnerability exists in the SSL/TLS client of Cisco ASA and FTD software. When the device initiates SSL/TLS connections to a server using specific encryption parameters, improper memory handling causes the device to unexpectedly reload, resulting in denial of service.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco security update/patch for CVE-2022-20927 to affected ASA and FTD deployments. Until the patch is available, restrict outbound SSL/TLS connections from the device to trusted servers only.

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:= 9.13.1= 9.13.1.2= 9.13.1.7= 9.13.1.10= 9.13.1.12= 9.13.1.13= 9.13.1.16= 9.13.1.19= 9.13.1.21= 9.14.1= 9.14.1.10= 9.14.1.15
Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication
Affected:>= 6.5.0, <= 6.5.0.5>= 6.7.0, <= 6.7.0.3= 6.6.0= 6.6.0.1= 6.6.1= 6.6.3= 6.6.4= 6.6.5= 6.6.5.1
Firepower Services Software For AsaApplication
Affected:all versions

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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. Identify the product and version
    Run 'show version' on the device CLI to obtain the software version and model information
    Affected if The device runs Cisco ASA Software, Cisco FTD, or Firepower Services for ASA and the version matches the affected list (9.13.1.x, 9.14.1.x for ASA; 6.5.0-6.5.0.5, 6.6.0-6.6.5.1, 6.7.0-6.7.0.3 for FTD; any version for Firepower Services for ASA)
  2. Confirm the SSL/TLS client feature is in use
    Review the device configuration for any crypto ssl commands (ASA) or SSL/TLS inspection policies, or check for outbound SSL/TLS connections to remote servers using 'show crypto ssl' or related commands
    Affected if The device is configured to initiate SSL/TLS connections to external servers (the vulnerability only affects the SSL/TLS client side, not server side)
  3. Verify crypto/SSL configuration
    Use 'show run crypto ssl' or examine the SSL VPN or SSL inspection configuration to see which encryption parameters and cipher suites are configured
    Affected if Specific encryption parameters are in use when the device acts as an SSL/TLS client connecting to servers; the exact parameters triggering the flaw are defined in the Cisco advisory

The environment is affected if the device runs an affected ASA or FTD version (or any version of Firepower Services for ASA) AND the SSL/TLS client feature is actively used to initiate connections to servers with vulnerable encryption parameters.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 6.7.0.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Cisco security update/patch for CVE-2022-20927 to affected ASA and FTD deployments. Until the patch is available, restrict outbound SSL/TLS connections from the device to trusted servers only.

Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
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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-2022-20927 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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