CVE-2023-20269
Confirmed PUBLISHEDA vulnerability in the remote access VPN feature of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD)...
Recommended Action
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
At a Glance
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.
- CVE Published
- Sep 06, 2023
- Exploitation Reported
- Sep 13, 2023
- CVSS
- 5.0 Medium
- EPSS
- —
Affected Versions
246 version rows · page 2 of 10
| Vendor | Product | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.3 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.7 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.8 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.10 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.12 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.15 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.17 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.25 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.20 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.22 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.26 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.29 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.32 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.33 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.34 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.35 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.39 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.40 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.41 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.43 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.44 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.45 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.46 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.8.4.48 |
Affected |
| Cisco |
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
|
9.12.1 |
Affected |
CVE References
- cisco-sa-asaftd-ravpn-auth-8LyfCkeC sec.cloudapps.cisco.com · CVE Record https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurity...
Recommended Actions
- Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
- Check enrichment artifacts for scanner coverage and available PoCs before rolling remediation validation.
- Use the Pro API to automate enrichment, telemetry, and workflow delivery for VM, SOC, and CTI pipelines.
Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources
Catalogues that list this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability.
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEVIntel Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2023-09-13 00:00 UTC |
No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.
Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.
Virtual Patch
Compensating WAF rules to help reduce exposure to this CVE. Rule content and deployable vendor exports are available with KEVIntel Enterprise.
KEVIntel does not currently have a virtual patch for this CVE. When available, KEVIntel virtual patches ship as deployable ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF rules.
Enterprise feature. Virtual patch rule content and deployable vendor exports (ModSecurity, Cloudflare, AWS WAF) are available to KEVIntel Enterprise users.
CVSS Scores
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N
Exploitation Status
Exploited in the wild
Recorded 2023-09-13 00:00:00 UTC · CISA
Used in malware
Recorded 2023-09-13 00:00:00 UTC · CISA
Weaknesses (CWE)
-
Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
Scanner Integrations
| Scanner | Reference | Detected |
|---|---|---|
| Nessus | https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/182523 | Jun 02, 2025 |
Timeline
Key exploitation, disclosure, scanner coverage, and KEV attestation events for this CVE.
-
09:26 UTC about 1 year ago09:26 UTC · about 1 year ago
Nessus plugin available
Scanner coverage available
-
00:00 UTC almost 3 years ago00:00 UTC · almost 3 years ago
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
00:00 UTC almost 3 years ago00:00 UTC · almost 3 years ago
First public exploitation report
Exploit observed in malware
-
17:09 UTC almost 3 years ago17:09 UTC · almost 3 years ago
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
18:47 UTC over 3 years ago18:47 UTC · over 3 years ago
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Automate This Intelligence with the Pro API
Confidence scoring, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
Pro API Example
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2023-20269
{
"cve_id": "CVE-2023-20269",
"title": "A vulnerability in the remote access VPN feature of Cisco Adaptive Security A...",
"affected_vendor": "Cisco",
"affected_product": "Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software, Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software",
"affected_versions": [
{ "vendor": "...", "product": "...", "status": "affected", "display_label": "..." }
],
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 5.0,
"epss_score": null,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "...": "Pro API fields" },
"proof_of_concepts": [ "..." ],
"scanner_integrations": [ "..." ]
}