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Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2026-20101

HIGH · 8.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.0.9 / 7.2.11 or later.
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 SAML 2.0 single sign-on (SSO) feature of Cisco Secure Firewall ASA Software and Secure FTD Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition. This vulnerability is due to insufficient error checking when processing SAML messages. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted SAML messages to the SAML service. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to 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 · moderate confidence

This vulnerability exists in the SAML 2.0 single sign-on feature of Cisco Secure Firewall ASA and FTD software. It is caused by insufficient error checking when processing SAML messages, allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker to send crafted SAML messages that trigger an unexpected device reload, resulting in denial of service.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided security update or patch for CVE-2026-20101 when available. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting SAML service access to trusted sources via access lists or VPN tunnels.

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:>= 9.12.1, < 9.16.4.85>= 9.17.1, < 9.18.4.66>= 9.19.1, < 9.20.4>= 9.22.1.1, < 9.22.2.4>= 9.23.1, < 9.23.1.7
Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication
Affected:>= 6.4.0, < 7.0.9>= 7.1.0, < 7.2.11>= 7.3.0, < 7.4.3>= 7.6.0, < 7.6.4>= 7.7.0, < 7.7.11

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:3.1/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. Identify the Cisco product and software version
    Run 'show version' on the device CLI to display the running software and version number
    Affected if The version falls within any of the listed affected ranges for ASA Software or FTD Software
  2. Determine if SAML SSO is enabled
    Run 'show run saml' or 'show running-config saml' to inspect the SAML configuration
    Affected if SAML configuration exists and the SAML service is active on the device
  3. Verify the SAML identity provider (IdP) configuration
    Run 'show saml idp' to list configured identity providers and their metadata settings
    Affected if One or more IdP entries are configured, indicating SAML SSO is in use
  4. Confirm device management interface exposure
    Review the device's access lists and interface security levels to determine if the management interface (or the interface where SAML listens) is reachable from untrusted networks
    Affected if The interface on which the SAML service listens accepts external connections from untrusted networks

The device is affected if it runs any ASA Software or FTD Software version within the listed ranges AND has SAML SSO configured and accessible from the network where the attacker can send malicious SAML messages.

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 7.0.9 / 7.2.11 / 7.4.3 or later
Fixed in 7.0.97.2.117.4.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided security update or patch for CVE-2026-20101 when available. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting SAML service access to trusted sources via access lists or VPN tunnels.

Recommended fix High confidence

ASA: upgrade to 9.16.4.85+, 9.18.4.66+, 9.20.4+, or 9.22.2.4+ | FTD: upgrade to 7.0.9+, 7.2.11+, 7.4.3+, or 7.6.4+

  1. 1. Identify the current Cisco ASA or FTD software version using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version per the affected version ranges
  3. 3. Download the fixed software release from Cisco (refer to sec.cloudapps.cisco.com for official downloads)
  4. 4. Back up the current device configuration
  5. 5. Upload the new software image to the device
  6. 6. Follow Cisco upgrade procedures to install the new software version
  7. 7. Verify the device reloads successfully and SAML SSO functionality operates normally
  8. 8. Confirm the new version is running using 'show version'
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes between versions before upgrading

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

Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2026-20101 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