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NVD / CVE Program· CNA cisco

CVE-2023-20269: A vulnerability in the remote access VPN feature of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD…

CriticalCVSS 9.1 · v3.1KEVWeaponized No fix recorded

Noroxi assessment

Priority: This week (action score 74/100)

  • CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (Sep 13, 2023); it is known to be used in ransomware campaigns. Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Oct 4, 2023.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 26.6% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 98% 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 the record, no fixed version is available yet.
  • Severity is disputed: the assigning authority (CNA) scores it 5.0, NVD 9.1.
  • Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Don’t wait for the next maintenance window. 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 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.

Published
Sep 6, 2023
Updated
Aug 11, 2026
EPSS
26.6% · 98th percentile

Report tools

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Action score

74

This week

Don’t wait for the next maintenance window.

CVSS
36 / 40 · 9.1 / 10
CISA KEV
30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS
8 / 30 · 26.6%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
active
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
9.1
CNA · cisco
5.0
4.1 point gap

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

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 Sep 13, 2023. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Oct 4, 2023.

Known to be used in ransomware campaigns.

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.

Follow CVE-2023-20269

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi 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.

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Affected 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.

VendorProduct
ciscoadaptive security appliance software
ciscosecure 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)

Watch new CVEs for adaptive security appliance software

When you'll hear from us

  • when a new CVE affecting this product is published
  • when a record in your stack enters KEV or is weaponized

One daily email digest (06:00 UTC); connect a webhook for KEV listings and weaponized exploits every 10 minutes on paid plans, on the hour on the free plan.

Your free account also gets you

  • CVE alerts: add the products and versions you run, get the new CVEs that affect them
  • Uptime monitoring: 1 site, instant email when it goes down
  • Add your domain: subdomains and takeover risk scanned every week (1 domain)
  • 10 scans an hour on the security tools, at most 30 a day (3 a day without an account), an API key and MCP
  • All your scans in one panel: findings, what changed in the last scan, a report per domain or per client (PDF, share link)
All free tools

Sign up with email · Have an account? Sign in

Free account, no card. Unfollow any time.

Don't want an account? Get "Exploited this week" by email every Monday

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

    • 9.8.1, 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 … (+28)affected

  • Cisco Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software

    • 6.2.3, 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, 6.2.3.10, 6.2.3.11, 6.2.3.9 … (+28)affected
Affected versions · NVD (20)

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.1
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.1.2
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.1.3
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.2
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.2.1
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.2.4
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.2.5
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.2.9
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.3
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.3.12
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.3.2
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.3.7
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.3.9
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.4
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.4.10
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.4.13
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.4.18
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.4.2
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.4.24
  • cisco adaptive security appliance software9.12.4.26

Same product

cisco: all records

Other 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…KEV
    91Now
  • 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…KEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2020-3452Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software Web Services Read-Only Path Traversal VulnerabilityKEV
    90Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2022-20947Nov 15, 2022 · A vulnerability in dynamic access policies (DAP) functionality of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Firepower Threat…
    30Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-20081Mar 23, 2023 · Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, Firepower Threat Defense Software, IOS Software, and IOS XE Software IPv6 DHCP (DHCPv6) Client Denial of Service…
    23Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2023-20086Nov 1, 2023 · A vulnerability in ICMPv6 processing of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software…
    34Monitor

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.

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.

  1. Published
  2. CISA KEV+6 d
  3. TodayNov 14, 2026+1165 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

All national notices →

Not on record for this CVE: 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
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-288 · Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

CVSS vector

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

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.

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records