CVE-2018-0296: A vulnerability in the web interface of the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause…
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Now (action score 90/100)
- CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (Nov 3, 2021). Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: May 3, 2022.
- A ready-made attack module is public (Metasploit, Nuclei); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 99.8% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 99.9% of all records.
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
- According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
- Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).
Patch today or shut off access. Until a fix is released, restrict access to the affected component and follow the vendor's advisory.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · CISA KEV · FIRST EPSS
A vulnerability in the web interface of the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. It is also possible on certain software releases that the ASA will not reload, but an attacker could view sensitive system information without authentication by using directory traversal techniques. The vulnerability is due to lack of proper input validation of the HTTP URL. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected device. An exploit could allow the attacker to cause a DoS condition or unauthenticated disclosure of information. This vulnerability applies to IPv4 and IPv6 HTTP traffic. This vulnerability affects Cisco ASA Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software that is running on the following Cisco products: 3000 Series Industrial Security Appliance (ISA), ASA 1000V Cloud Firewall, ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances, ASA 5500-X Series Next-Generation Firewalls, ASA Services Module for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches and Cisco 7600 Series Routers, Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance (ASAv), Firepower 2100 Series Security Appliance, Firepower 4100 Series Security Appliance, Firepower 9300 ASA Security Module, FTD Virtual (FTDv). Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvi16029.
- Published
- Jun 7, 2018
- Updated
- Aug 11, 2026
- EPSS
- 99.8% · 99th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-20
Report tools
Action score
90
Patch today or shut off access.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 30 / 30 · Listed
- EPSS
- 30 / 30 · 99.8%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- active
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
Actively exploited in the wild
CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Nov 3, 2021. That signals real attacks, not theory.
Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: May 3, 2022.
Get told when this record changes
- In CISA KEV: exploitation in the wild confirmed
- Weaponized exploit exists
- No fixed version yet
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
Is your version affected? Check itNoroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| cisco | adaptive security appliance software | cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software |
| cisco | firepower threat defense | cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense |
| cisco | secure firewall threat defense | cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_firewall_threat_defense |
Using adaptive security appliance software? Add it to your stack and be the first to know about CVEs like this one. (Firewall)
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (cisco). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
n/a Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance unknown
- Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance unknownaffected
Affected versions · NVD (9)
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.1 and later · before 9.1.7.29
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.2 and later · before 9.2.4.33
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.3 and later · before 9.4.4.18
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.5 and later · before 9.6.4.8
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.7 and later · before 9.7.1.24
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.8 and later · before 9.8.2.28
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.9 and later · before 9.9.2.1
- cisco firepower threat defense6.2.3-85.02
- cisco firepower threat defense6.2.3-851
Same product
cisco: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2025-20333A vulnerability in the VPN web server of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat…KEV91Now
- CVE-2025-20362Update: On November 5, 2025, Cisco became aware of a new attack variant against devices running Cisco Secure ASA Software or Cisco Secure…KEV90Now
- CVE-2020-3452Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software Web Services Read-Only Path Traversal VulnerabilityKEV90Now
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2018-0242Apr 19, 2018 · A vulnerability in the WebVPN web-based management interface of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance could allow an unauthenticated, remote…25Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2018-0251Apr 19, 2018 · A vulnerability in the Web Server Authentication Required screen of the Clientless Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN portal of Cisco Adaptive…25Monitor
- Later →CVE-2018-15398Oct 5, 2018 · Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Access Control List Bypass Vulnerability17Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
Weaponized
A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.
Evidence
- Metasploit module ×1
- Exploit-DB entry ×2
- Nuclei detection template ×2
- Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×4
Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.
| Source | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | 4 repositories | 2018-06-21 → 2018-12-19 |
| Exploit-DB entry | webapps | 2018-06-28 |
| Exploit-DB entry | webapps | 2019-08-12 |
| Metasploit module | auxiliary/scanner/http/cisco_directory_traversalCisco ASA Directory Traversalauxiliary | 2018-06-06 |
| Nuclei detection template | Nuclei template CVE-2018-0296 | — |
| Nuclei detection template | Nuclei template cisco-asa-workflow | — |
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
- Metasploit-1 d
- Published
- First PoC+14 d
- CISA KEV+1245 d
- TodayNov 14, 2026+3082 d
National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)
Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.
- TR-19-018 · Mar 7, 2019(Cisco Güvenlik Güncellemeleri Yayınladı)
Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-20 · Improper Input ValidationCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Buffer Overflow via Environment VariablesCAPEC-10likelihood: High · High
- Server Side Include (SSI) InjectionCAPEC-101likelihood: High · High
- Cross Zone ScriptingCAPEC-104likelihood: Medium · High
- Command Line Execution through SQL InjectionCAPEC-108likelihood: Low · Very High
- Object Relational Mapping InjectionCAPEC-109likelihood: Low · High
- SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter TamperingCAPEC-110likelihood: High · Very High
- Double EncodingCAPEC-120likelihood: Low · Medium
- Subverting Environment Variable ValuesCAPEC-13likelihood: High · Very High
ATT&CK techniques
- Obfuscated Files or InformationT1027
- Masquerading: Invalid Code SignatureT1036.001
- Steal Web Session CookieT1539
- Subvert Trust Controls: Code SigningT1553.002
- Impair Defenses:Impair Command History LoggingT1562.003
- Hijack Execution Flow:Dynamic Linker HijackingT1574.006
- Hijack Execution Flow:Path Interception by PATH Environment VariableT1574.007
Change log (0)
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
Show all references (4 more)Show less
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.