Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software Web Services Interface Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerabilities
Multiple vulnerabilities in the web services interface of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks against a user of the web services interface of an affected device. The vulnerabilities are due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input by the web services interface of an affected device. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by persuading a user of the interface to click a crafted link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary script code in the context of the interface or allow the attacker to access sensitive, browser-based information. Note: These vulnerabilities affect only specific AnyConnect and WebVPN configurations. For more information, see the Vulnerable Products section.
- Published
- Oct 21, 2020
- Updated
- Aug 11, 2026
- EPSS
- 85.6% · 100th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-79
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Report tools
Action score
80
Now
Patch today or shut off access.
- CVSS
- 24 / 40 · 6.1 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 30 / 30 · Listed
- EPSS
- 26 / 30 · 85.6%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- active
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 6.1
- CNA · cisco
- 6.1
- agree
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
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 government agencies: May 3, 2022.
Known to be used in ransomware campaigns.
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| cisco | secure firewall threat defense | cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_firewall_threat_defense |
| cisco | adaptive security appliance software | cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- cisco adaptive security appliance softwarebefore 9.8.4.34
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.9 and later · before 9.9.2.85
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.10 and later · before 9.12.4.13
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.13 and later · before 9.13.1.21
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.14 and later · before 9.14.2.8
- cisco adaptive security appliance software9.15 and later · before 9.15.1.15
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.
Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
- n/aaffected
Same product
cisco: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2020-3259Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software Web Services Information Disclosure VulnerabilityKEV82Now
- CVE-2020-3187Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software Web Services Path Traversal Vulnerability65This week
- CVE-2024-20481A vulnerability in the Remote Access VPN (RAVPN) service of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat DefeKEV58Plan
- CVE-2022-20759Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software Web Services Interface Privilege Escalation Vulnerability43Plan
- CVE-2020-3562Cisco Firepower 2100 Series SSL/TLS Inspection Denial of Service Vulnerability35Monitor
- CVE-2020-3373Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software IP Fragment Memory Leak Vulnerability35Monitor
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
- Nuclei detection template ×1
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nuclei detection template | Nuclei template CVE-2020-3580 | — |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:9 | 2021-06-25 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:19 | 2021-06-28 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:0 | 2022-06-24 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:2 | 2022-07-15 |
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.
- Published
- First PoC+246 d
- CISA KEV+377 d
- TodaySep 29, 2026+2169 d
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- A user must open a link or visit a page.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- low · data can be read
- Integrity
- low · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- none
Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality impact
- Low
- Integrity impact
- Low
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
nvd-primary
Root cause
User content is inserted into the page as HTML. The browser interprets the content as code rather than data.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-79 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
commentEl.innerHTML = comment.body;Fixed
commentEl.textContent = comment.body;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)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
- tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asaftd-xss-multiple-FCB3vPZe
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-3580
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.