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Firepower Threat Defense CVE-2022-20826

MEDIUM
Trust Boundary Violation (CWE-501)
2022-11-15 psirt@cisco.com
6.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V14 - Data Protection Trust boundary enforcement
Impact

CVSS score of 6.8 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: physical attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

Successful exploitation could compromise the medium-severity affected system.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

A vulnerability in the secure boot implementation of Cisco Secure Firewalls 3100 Series that are running Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software or Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-501. A vulnerability in the secure boot implementation of Cisco Secure Firewalls 3100 Series that are running Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software or Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the device to bypass the secure boot functionality. This vulnerability is due to a logic error in the boot process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting malicious code into a specific memory location during the boot process of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute persistent code at boot time and break the chain of trust. Affected products include: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, Cisco Firepower Threat Defense.

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 6.8 MEDIUM
AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Physical
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

A vulnerability in the secure boot implementation of Cisco Secure Firewalls 3100 Series that are running Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software or Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the device to bypass the secure boot functionality. This vulnerability is due to a logic error in the boot process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting malicious code into a specific memory location during the boot process of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute persistent code at boot time and break the chain of trust.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 76% exploitable
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

34
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +34
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.17.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.17.1.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.17.1.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.17.1.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.18.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.18.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense:7.1.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense:7.2.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense:7.2.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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