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Exploited

CVE-2026-20349

Cisco ASA / Firepower (FTD) · Firewalls, VPNs and remote access

Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Heap Inspection Vulnerability

At a glance

Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on August 11, 2026.

Affected product: Cisco ASA / Firepower (FTD) (category Firewalls, VPNs and remote access, indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD).

What should I do?

Apply the patches or mitigations from Cisco; if none are available, stop using the product. Start with internet-facing devices.

Deadline set by CISA for US federal agencies: 3 days (due August 14, 2026). It only binds those agencies, but it is a useful measure of urgency.

Original text of the required action (CISA)

Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA's BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA's "Forensics Triage Requirements" (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.

Timeline

  1. Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
  2. Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
  3. CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies

The facts, with their sources

Exploitation confirmed
Yes, on August 11, 2026 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Ransomware
No known use to date That does not guarantee it is not being used: the information is not public. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Hunt for compromise
Not requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA required action
Apply the patches or mitigations from Cisco; if none are available, stop using the product. Start with internet-facing devices. Rewritten by this site from CISA’s original text. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA deadline
August 14, 2026, 3 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Vulnerability published
August 11, 2026 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
Product according to CISA
Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Filed by this site under “Firewalls, VPNs and remote access” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H Technical detail of the score: attack vector, complexity, impact. Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC

Severity and activity

8.6 / 10 CVSS severity: high

Score from the vendor or CISA, relayed by the NVD. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

— Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS)

FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

Description

A vulnerability in the Remote Access SSL VPN service for Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition.  This vulnerability is due to insufficient error checking when processing HTTP requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to the Remote Access SSL VPN service on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition.

Official description from the NVD, collected Sep 29, 2026. CVE® description © The MITRE Corporation.

Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) contain a heap inspection vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition.

Summary from CISA (KEV catalog).

CERT-FR advisories

No advisory among the latest CERT-FR publications this site follows. That does not mean there are none.

Information reused under the Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab); the date of last update is shown for each advisory. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ANSSI.

Sources for this page

  • CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, required action, deadline, ransomware.
  • NVD (NIST): CVSS severity, publication date, description, vendor references.
  • EPSS (FIRST): probability of exploitation.
  • CERT-FR: advisories and alerts (in French).
  • Brand and category: indicative classification by this site (method).