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CVE-2023-20269 — Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance and Firepower Threat Defense Unauthorized Access Vulnerability

CVE-2023-20269 · Secure Firewall ASA · CVSS 9.1 · KEV

In brief

Severity · CVSS
Critical9.1CVSS 3.1, Critical
EPSS
25%
CISA KEV
Known exploited, listed since 13 Sept 2023
CERT-FR
No advisory or alert referenced in the catalog
Vendor
Cisco
Published · Modified
·
Last verified

Summary

A vulnerability in the remote access VPN feature of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a brute force attack in an attempt to identify valid username and password combinations or an authenticated, remote attacker to establish a clientless SSL VPN session with an unauthorized user. This vulnerability is due to improper separation of authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) between the remote access VPN feature and the HTTPS management and site-to-site VPN features. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by specifying a default connection profile/tunnel group while conducting a brute force attack or while establishing a clientless SSL VPN session using valid credentials. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to achieve one or both of the following: Identify valid credentials that could then be used to establish an unauthorized remote access VPN session. Establish a clientless SSL VPN session (only when running Cisco ASA Software Release 9.16 or earlier). Notes: Establishing a client-based remote access VPN tunnel is not possible as these default connection profiles/tunnel groups do not and cannot have an IP address pool configured. This vulnerability does not allow an attacker to bypass authentication. To successfully establish a remote access VPN session, valid credentials are required, including a valid second factor if multi-factor authentication (MFA) is configured. Cisco will release software updates that address this vulnerability. There are workarounds that address this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-288, CWE-863

Title, description and the vendor's statements are quoted from the CVE record; a vendor's advisory is summarised in Patcharo's words, with a link.

Affected and fixed versions

Per product and release branch, as the vendor's CVE record and official advisory state them. A fixed release is shown only when a document names it: the vendor's, or CERT-FR's for Check Point, with its source.

17 branches without a precise fixed release

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software

Source: CVE-2023-20269cisco-sa-asaftd-ravpn-auth-8LyfCkeC

  1. 9.19
    Affected versions9.19.1, 9.19.1.5, 9.19.1.9, 9.19.1.12
    5 releases listed9.19.1, 9.19.1.5, 9.19.1.9, 9.19.1.12, 9.19.1.18
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  2. 9.18
    Affected versions9.18.1, 9.18.1.3, 9.18.2, 9.18.2.5
    11 releases listed9.18.1, 9.18.1.3, 9.18.2, 9.18.2.5, 9.18.2.7, 9.18.2.8, 9.18.3, 9.18.3.39, 9.18.3.46, 9.18.3.53, 9.18.3.55
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  3. 9.17End of life
    Affected versions9.17.1, 9.17.1.7, 9.17.1.9, 9.17.1.10
    9 releases listed9.17.1, 9.17.1.7, 9.17.1.9, 9.17.1.10, 9.17.1.11, 9.17.1.13, 9.17.1.15, 9.17.1.20, 9.17.1.30
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  4. 9.16
    Affected versions9.16.1, 9.16.1.28, 9.16.2, 9.16.2.3
    21 releases listed9.16.1, 9.16.1.28, 9.16.2, 9.16.2.3, 9.16.2.7, 9.16.2.11, 9.16.2.13, 9.16.2.14, 9.16.3, 9.16.3.3, 9.16.3.14, 9.16.3.15, 9.16.3.19, 9.16.3.23, 9.16.4, 9.16.4.9, 9.16.4.14, 9.16.4.18, 9.16.4.19, 9.16.4.27, 9.16.4.38
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  5. 9.15End of life
    Affected versions9.15.1, 9.15.1.1, 9.15.1.7, 9.15.1.10
    8 releases listed9.15.1, 9.15.1.1, 9.15.1.7, 9.15.1.10, 9.15.1.15, 9.15.1.16, 9.15.1.17, 9.15.1.21
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  6. 9.14End of life
    Affected versions9.14.1, 9.14.1.6, 9.14.1.10, 9.14.1.15
    28 releases listed9.14.1, 9.14.1.6, 9.14.1.10, 9.14.1.15, 9.14.1.19, 9.14.1.30, 9.14.2, 9.14.2.4, 9.14.2.8, 9.14.2.13, 9.14.2.15, 9.14.3, 9.14.3.1, 9.14.3.9, 9.14.3.11, 9.14.3.13, 9.14.3.15, 9.14.3.18, 9.14.4, 9.14.4.6, 9.14.4.7, 9.14.4.12, 9.14.4.13, 9.14.4.14, 9.14.4.15, 9.14.4.17, 9.14.4.22, 9.14.4.23
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  7. 9.12End of life
    Affected versions9.12.1, 9.12.1.2, 9.12.1.3, 9.12.2
    39 releases listed9.12.1, 9.12.1.2, 9.12.1.3, 9.12.2, 9.12.2.1, 9.12.2.4, 9.12.2.5, 9.12.2.9, 9.12.3, 9.12.3.2, 9.12.3.7, 9.12.3.9, 9.12.3.12, 9.12.4, 9.12.4.2, 9.12.4.4, 9.12.4.7, 9.12.4.8, 9.12.4.10, 9.12.4.13, 9.12.4.18, 9.12.4.24, 9.12.4.26, 9.12.4.29, 9.12.4.30, 9.12.4.35, 9.12.4.37, 9.12.4.38, 9.12.4.39, 9.12.4.40, 9.12.4.41, 9.12.4.47, 9.12.4.48, 9.12.4.50, 9.12.4.52, 9.12.4.54, 9.12.4.55, 9.12.4.56, 9.12.4.58
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  8. 9.8End of life
    Affected versions9.8.1, 9.8.1.5, 9.8.1.7, 9.8.2
    49 releases listed9.8.1, 9.8.1.5, 9.8.1.7, 9.8.2, 9.8.2.8, 9.8.2.14, 9.8.2.15, 9.8.2.17, 9.8.2.20, 9.8.2.24, 9.8.2.26, 9.8.2.28, 9.8.2.33, 9.8.2.35, 9.8.2.38, 9.8.3, 9.8.3.8, 9.8.3.11, 9.8.3.14, 9.8.3.16, 9.8.3.18, 9.8.3.21, 9.8.3.26, 9.8.3.29, 9.8.4, 9.8.4.3, 9.8.4.7, 9.8.4.8, 9.8.4.10, 9.8.4.12, 9.8.4.15, 9.8.4.17, 9.8.4.20, 9.8.4.22, 9.8.4.25, 9.8.4.26, 9.8.4.29, 9.8.4.32, 9.8.4.33, 9.8.4.34, 9.8.4.35, 9.8.4.39, 9.8.4.40, 9.8.4.41, 9.8.4.43, 9.8.4.44, 9.8.4.45, 9.8.4.46, 9.8.4.48
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed

The vendor states fixes are available; the releases per branch are in its advisory.

Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software

Source: CVE-2023-20269cisco-sa-asaftd-ravpn-auth-8LyfCkeC

  1. 7.4
    Affected versions7.4
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  2. 7.3
    Affected versions7.3, 7.3.1, 7.3.1.1
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  3. 7.2
    Affected versions7.2, 7.2.0.1, 7.2.1, 7.2.2
    8 releases listed7.2, 7.2.0.1, 7.2.1, 7.2.2, 7.2.3, 7.2.4, 7.2.4.1, 7.2.5
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  4. 7.1End of life
    Affected versions7.1, 7.1.0.1, 7.1.0.2, 7.1.0.3
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  5. 7.0
    Affected versions7.0, 7.0.0.1, 7.0.1, 7.0.1.1
    10 releases listed7.0, 7.0.0.1, 7.0.1, 7.0.1.1, 7.0.2, 7.0.2.1, 7.0.3, 7.0.4, 7.0.5, 7.0.6
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  6. 6.7End of life
    Affected versions6.7, 6.7.0.1, 6.7.0.2, 6.7.0.3
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  7. 6.6End of life
    Affected versions6.6, 6.6.0.1, 6.6.1, 6.6.3
    10 releases listed6.6, 6.6.0.1, 6.6.1, 6.6.3, 6.6.4, 6.6.5, 6.6.5.1, 6.6.5.2, 6.6.7, 6.6.7.1
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  8. 6.4End of life
    Affected versions6.4, 6.4.0.1, 6.4.0.2, 6.4.0.3
    17 releases listed6.4, 6.4.0.1, 6.4.0.2, 6.4.0.3, 6.4.0.4, 6.4.0.5, 6.4.0.6, 6.4.0.7, 6.4.0.8, 6.4.0.9, 6.4.0.10, 6.4.0.11, 6.4.0.12, 6.4.0.13, 6.4.0.14, 6.4.0.15, 6.4.0.16
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed
  9. 6.2
    Affected versions6.2.3, 6.2.3.1, 6.2.3.2, 6.2.3.3
    19 releases listed6.2.3, 6.2.3.1, 6.2.3.2, 6.2.3.3, 6.2.3.4, 6.2.3.5, 6.2.3.6, 6.2.3.7, 6.2.3.8, 6.2.3.9, 6.2.3.10, 6.2.3.11, 6.2.3.12, 6.2.3.13, 6.2.3.14, 6.2.3.15, 6.2.3.16, 6.2.3.17, 6.2.3.18
    First fixed releaseNot published in the sources followed

The vendor states fixes are available; the releases per branch are in its advisory.

Remediation

Fix available

Vendor fix

Cisco has released updates that fix this vulnerability; its advisory lists them.

SourceCisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-asaftd-ravpn-auth-8LyfCkeC· revised 11 Oct 2023

Mitigation (vendor)

Cisco describes a workaround or a mitigation in its advisory.

SourceCisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-asaftd-ravpn-auth-8LyfCkeC

CISA KEV required action

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions for group-lock and vpn-simultaneous-logins or discontinue use of the product for unsupported devices.

CISA due date:

SourceCISA KEV

Last verified 1 Oct 2026 at 09:29 UTC

Known exploitation

Added to CISA KEV on 13 Sept 2023

Federal remediation due date: 4 Oct 2023

Known use in ransomware campaigns

The CISA required action is shown under Remediation.

25% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (percentile 98%).

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

CERT-FR

No CERT-FR advisory or alert of the last two years references this CVE, for the vendors Patcharo covers.

Timeline

  1. Published by the source
  2. Added to CISA KEV
  3. CISA remediation due date
  4. Source record last modified
  5. EPSS score computed
  6. Last verified by Patcharo

Official sources

References

Cisco · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities · NVD · FIRST EPSS · Cisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-asaftd-ravpn-auth-8LyfCkeC

How Patcharo reads this

Affected and fixed releases come from the vendor's structured statements and are matched against exact versions; CVSS from NVD, exploitation from CISA KEV and the vendor's own advisory, probability from FIRST EPSS. Missing data stays Unknown and never becomes Not affected.

Read the methodologyRead the guide: Cisco Secure Firewall release trains: Threat Defense, Management Center and ASA versions explained

Related vulnerabilities

Other records affecting the same products, newest first.

  • CVE-2026-20349Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance and Secure Firewall Threat Defense Software Remote Access SSL VPN Denial of Service VulnerabilityHighKEV
  • CVE-2025-20362Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security (ASA) Appliance and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Missing Authorization VulnerabilityHighKEV
  • CVE-2025-20333Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Buffer Overflow VulnerabilityCriticalKEV
  • CVE-2024-20481Cisco ASA and FTD Denial-of-Service VulnerabilityMediumKEV
  • CVE-2024-20359Cisco ASA and FTD Privilege Escalation VulnerabilityMediumKEV

All Secure Firewall ASA vulnerabilitiesAll Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) vulnerabilitiesAll Cisco vulnerabilities