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Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2022-20947

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
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 dynamic access policies (DAP) functionality of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to improper processing of HostScan data received from the Posture (HostScan) module. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HostScan data to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asa-ftd-dap-dos-GhYZBxDU ["https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asa-ftd-dap-dos-GhYZBxDU"] This advisory is part of the November 2022 release of the Cisco ASA, FTD, and FMC Security Advisory Bundled publication.

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 the Dynamic Access Policies (DAP) feature of Cisco ASA and FTD software allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause device reload by sending crafted HostScan data. The vulnerability exists due to improper processing of HostScan data received from the Posture (HostScan) module, leading to denial of service.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco security patch from the November 2022 advisory. Until patched, restrict network access to interfaces handling HostScan connections and monitor for indicators of exploitation.

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:= 9.6.1= 9.6.1.3= 9.6.1.5= 9.6.1.10= 9.6.2= 9.6.2.1= 9.6.2.2= 9.6.2.3= 9.6.2.7= 9.6.2.11= 9.6.2.13= 9.6.2.22
Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication
Affected:= 6.1.0= 6.1.0.1= 6.1.0.2= 6.1.0.3= 6.1.0.4= 6.1.0.5= 6.1.0.6= 6.1.0.7= 6.2.0= 6.2.0.1= 6.2.0.2= 6.2.0.3

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 Cisco device product type
    Run 'show version' or check the system prompt to determine if the device is running Cisco ASA or Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) software.
    Affected if Device is running ASA or FTD software and matches the affected versions listed.
  2. Verify the software version against affected releases
    Run 'show version' to obtain the exact software version number. Compare it to the CVE-affected versions: ASA versions 9.6.1 through 9.6.2.22 (specific builds listed), and FTD versions 6.1.0 through 6.2.0.3 (specific builds listed).
    Affected if The installed version exactly matches one of the listed affected versions.
  3. Confirm Dynamic Access Policies (DAP) feature is configured
    Run 'show dap session' or 'show running-config dap' to check if any DAP policies are defined on the device.
    Affected if DAP policies are actively configured on the device.
  4. Verify Posture (HostScan) module is enabled
    Run 'show running-config all | include hostscan' or check the AnyConnect profile configuration to determine if the HostScan/Posture module is enabled for endpoint posture assessment.
    Affected if HostScan or Posture module is enabled and accepting connections from clients.
  5. Check for device reload events or crash indicators
    Run 'show crashinfo' or review the system logs for recent unexpected reload events or process failures related to DAP or HostScan.
    Affected if Device has recently reloaded or crashed with no other clear cause, or crash logs reference dap or hostscan processes.

The device is affected if it runs an ASA or FTD version exactly matching one of the listed versions, has DAP configured, and has the HostScan/Posture module enabled.

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 relevant Cisco security patch from the November 2022 advisory. Until patched, restrict network access to interfaces handling HostScan connections and monitor for indicators of exploitation.

Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,440
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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-2022-20947 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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