CVE-2022-20759 remediation guide
Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software, secure firewall threat defense, adaptive security appliance software
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 man...
Identify the affected asset
Confirm whether Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software, secure firewall threat defense, adaptive security appliance software is installed, record the deployed version and installation path, and identify exposed interfaces.
- Record the product name, package or appliance identifier, and installed version.
- Identify internet-facing, administrative, API, and internal access paths.
- Preserve the pre-change configuration and relevant service logs.
Validate the affected-version match
Compare the deployed version with the affected range: < 6.4.0.15, >= 6.5.0 < 6.6.5.2, >= 6.7.0 < 7.0.2, 7.1.0, < 9.12.4.38, >= 9.13.0 < 9.14.4, >= 9.15.0 < 9.15.1.21, >= 9.16.0 < 9.16.2.14, >= 9.17.0 < 9.17.1.7. Treat incomplete inventory results as unresolved.
Prioritize with independent signals
FIRST EPSS indicates an elevated probability of exploitation. Combine this signal with asset criticality, exposure, compensating controls, and business impact.
Apply supported remediation
Follow the vendor advisory or supported update path. Current fixed-version status: 6.4.0.15, 6.6.5.2, 7.0.2, 9.12.4.38, 9.14.4, 9.15.1.21, 9.16.2.14, 9.17.1.7. Preserve configuration and rollback material before change.
Verify the result
Confirm the resulting version, service health, authentication and access paths, monitoring coverage, and relevant security logs.
- Confirm the expected version and package state.
- Run a functional health check for critical service paths.
- Review authentication, error, application, and security monitoring logs.
- Reassess exposure if the supported fix cannot be applied.
Operational boundary
This page does not replace the vendor advisory, support contract, change-management process, or recovery plan. Do not infer that an asset is unaffected from an incomplete inventory query or a missing fixed-version field.