8.6High

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance

CVE-2021-40117

A vulnerability in SSL/TLS message handler for Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability exists because incoming SSL/TLS packets are not properly processed. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted SSL/TLS packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition.

What this means for your business

  • It affects Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance. It matters if your company, or a supplier that handles your data, runs it.
  • An attacker can use it remotely, over a network, without a login, and without anyone at your company clicking anything.
  • FIRST's prediction model gives it a 2% chance of attack attempts being seen in the next 30 days, ranking above 73% of all known flaws.

What to do

  1. 1Check whether your company or your suppliers run Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance, and which version. The affected versions are listed further down this page.
  2. 2If you do, apply the vendor's fix. A patch or vendor advisory has been published.

Not sure if your company is exposed?

Fastnexa’s certified penetration testers can check whether attackers could use this flaw, or others like it, against your websites, apps and network. The full test is free for our first 10 founding clients until 31 December 2026.

Scoring

CVSS
8.6 (v3.1)
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-119
Assigned by
psirt@cisco.com

Dates

Published
2021-10-27
Last modified
2026-08-11
Sources
NVD

Affected products

  • Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance- 9.8.4.40
  • Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense- 6.2.3.17, 6.3.0 - 6.4.0.13, 6.5.0 - 6.6.5, 6.7.0 - 6.7.0.3, 7.0.0 - 7.0.1
  • Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software9.9.0 - 9.12.4.26, 9.13.0 - 9.14.3.9, 9.15.0 - 9.15.1.17, 9.16.0 - 9.16.2.3
  • Cisco Asa 5512-X Firmware009.009\(002.085\), 009.014\(002.106\)
  • Cisco Asa 5512-Xall versions
  • Cisco Asa 5505 Firmware009.009\(002.085\), 009.014\(002.106\)
  • Cisco Asa 5505all versions
  • Cisco Asa 5515-X Firmware009.009\(002.085\), 009.014\(002.106\)
  • Cisco Asa 5515-Xall versions
  • Cisco Asa 5525-X Firmware009.009\(002.085\), 009.014\(002.106\)
  • Cisco Asa 5525-Xall versions
  • Cisco Asa 5545-X Firmware009.009\(002.085\), 009.014\(002.106\)

As listed in the NVD configuration data. Not a statement about your estate.

References