A vulnerability in the authentication and authorization flows for VPN connections in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to establish a connection as a different user. This vulnerability is due to a flaw in the authorization verifications during the VPN authentication flow. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted packet during a VPN authentication. The attacker must have valid credentials to establish a VPN connection. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to establish a VPN connection with access privileges from a different user. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability. This advisory is available at the following link:https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asa-ftd-vp-authz-N2GckjN6 This advisory is part of the November 2022 release of the Cisco ASA, FTD, and FMC Security Advisory Bundled publication. For a complete list of the advisories and links to them, see Cisco Event Response: November 2022 Semiannual Cisco ASA, FMC, and FTD Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication.
A vulnerability in the authentication and authorization flows for VPN connections in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to establish a connection as a different user.
This vulnerability is due to a flaw in the authorization verifications during the VPN authentication flow. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted packet during a VPN authentication. The attacker must have valid credentials to establish a VPN connection. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to establish a VPN connection with access privileges from a different user.
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
This advisory is available at the following link:
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asa-ftd-vp-authz-N2GckjN6
This advisory is part of the November 2022 release of the Cisco ASA, FTD, and FMC Security Advisory Bundled publication. For a complete list of the advisories and links to them, see Cisco Event Response: November 2022 Semiannual Cisco ASA, FMC, and FTD Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication.
At the time of publication, this vulnerability affected Cisco products if they were running a vulnerable release of Cisco ASA Software or Cisco FTD Software and had VPN with multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled.
For information about which Cisco software releases were vulnerable at the time of publication, see the Fixed Software section of this advisory.
Only products listed in the Vulnerable Products section of this advisory are known to be affected by this vulnerability.
Cisco has confirmed that this vulnerability does not affect Cisco Firepower Management (FMC) Software.
Exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to establish a VPN connection as a different user. If authorization is enabled, it could allow the attacker to bypass network access protections by obtaining access privileges from a different user. The overall impact of exploitation is organization specific because it depends on the importance of the assets that the different authorization levels were supposed to protect. Customers should evaluate how exploitation of this vulnerability would impact their network and proceed according to their own processes for handling and remediating vulnerabilities.
There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
When considering software upgrades, customers are advised to regularly consult the advisories for Cisco products, which are available from the Cisco Security Advisories page, to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution.
In all cases, customers should ensure that the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and confirm that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or their contracted maintenance providers.
To help customers determine their exposure to vulnerabilities in Cisco ASA, FMC, and FTD Software, Cisco provides the Cisco Software Checker. This tool identifies any Cisco security advisories that impact a specific software release and the earliest release that fixes the vulnerabilities that are described in each advisory (“First Fixed”). If applicable, the tool also returns the earliest release that fixes all the vulnerabilities that are described in all the advisories that the Software Checker identifies (“Combined First Fixed”).
To use the tool, go to the Cisco Software Checker page and follow the instructions. Alternatively, use the following form to search for vulnerabilities that affect a specific software release. To use the form, follow these steps:
For instructions on upgrading your FTD device, see Cisco Firepower Management Center Upgrade Guide.
The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability that is described in this advisory.
This vulnerability was found during the resolution of a Cisco TAC support case.
To learn about Cisco security vulnerability disclosure policies and publications, see the Security Vulnerability Policy. This document also contains instructions for obtaining fixed software and receiving security vulnerability information from Cisco.
| Version | Description | Section | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Initial public release. | - | Final | 2022-NOV-09 |
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