Privilege escalation in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software
CVE-2022-20759
A vulnerability in the web services interface for remote access VPN features of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, but unprivileged, remote attacker to elevate privileges to level 15. This vulnerability is due to improper separation of authentication and authorization scopes. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTPS messages to the web services interface of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain privilege level 15 access to the web management interface of the device. This includes privilege level 15 access to the device using management tools like the Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) or the Cisco Security Manager (CSM). Note: With Cisco FTD Software, the impact is lower than the CVSS score suggests because the affected web management interface allows for read access only.
EPSS: 0.292 (98.0th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Affected products
- Cisco Adaptive_security_appliance_software
- Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (Asa) Software — versions n/a
- Cisco Firepower_threat_defense — versions 7.1.0
- Cisco Secure_firewall_threat_defense — versions 7.1.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- psirt@cisco.com (x_refsource_CISCO, vendor-advisory, Vendor Advisory)
- psirt@cisco.com (Exploit, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2022-20759?
- CVE-2022-20759 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, classified under Incorrect Privilege Assignment. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2022-05-03.
- How severe is CVE-2022-20759?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2022-20759 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.