7.4High

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software

CVE-2022-20866

A vulnerability in the handling of RSA keys on devices running Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to retrieve an RSA private key. This vulnerability is due to a logic error when the RSA key is stored in memory on a hardware platform that performs hardware-based cryptography. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using a Lenstra side-channel attack against the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to retrieve the RSA private key. The following conditions may be observed on an affected device: This vulnerability will apply to approximately 5 percent of the RSA keys on a device that is running a vulnerable release of Cisco ASA Software or Cisco FTD Software; not all RSA keys are expected to be affected due to mathematical calculations applied to the RSA key. The RSA key could be valid but have specific characteristics that make it vulnerable to the potential leak of the RSA private key. If an attacker obtains the RSA private key, they could use the key to impersonate a device that is running Cisco ASA Software or Cisco FTD Software or to decrypt the device traffic. See the Indicators of Compromise section for more information on the detection of this type of RSA key. The RSA key could be malformed and invalid. A malformed RSA key is not functional, and a TLS client connection to a device that is running Cisco ASA Software or Cisco FTD Software that uses the malformed RSA key will result in a TLS signature failure, which means a vulnerable software release created an invalid RSA signature that failed verification. If an attacker obtains the RSA private key, they could use the key to impersonate a device that is running Cisco ASA Software or Cisco FTD Software or to decrypt the device traffic.

What this means for your business

  • It affects Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software. 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 17% chance of attack attempts being seen in the next 30 days, ranking above 96% of all known flaws.

What to do

  1. 1Check whether your company or your suppliers run Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, 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
7.4 (v3.1)
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-203
Assigned by
psirt@cisco.com

Dates

Published
2022-08-10
Last modified
2026-08-11
Sources
NVD

Affected products

  • Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software9.16.0 - 9.16.3.19, 9.17.0 - 9.17.1.13, 9.18.0 - 9.18.2
  • Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense7.0.0 - 7.0.4, 7.1.0 - 7.2.0.1
  • Cisco Asa 5506-Xall versions
  • Cisco Asa 5506h-Xall versions
  • Cisco Asa 5506w-Xall versions
  • Cisco Asa 5508-Xall versions
  • Cisco Asa 5516-Xall versions
  • Cisco Firepower 1000all versions
  • Cisco Firepower 1010all versions
  • Cisco Firepower 1020all versions
  • Cisco Firepower 1030all versions
  • Cisco Firepower 1040all versions

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

References