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Adaptive Security Appliance Software CVE-2025-20127

HIGH
Improper Resource Shutdown or Release (CWE-404)
2025-08-14 psirt@cisco.com
7.7
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: cisco
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2021 - Security Misconfiguration
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Resource release
Impact

CVSS score of 7.7 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.19%.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the high-severity affected system.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 28, 2026

A vulnerability in the TLS 1.3 implementation for a specific cipher for Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software for. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, 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

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-404. A vulnerability in the TLS 1.3 implementation for a specific cipher for Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software for Cisco Firepower 3100 and 4200 Series devices could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to consume resources that are associated with incoming TLS 1.3 connections, which eventually could cause the device to stop accepting any new SSL/TLS or VPN requests. This vulnerability is due to the implementation of the TLS 1.3 Cipher TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a large number of TLS 1.3 connections with the specific TLS 1.3 Cipher TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition where no new incoming encrypted connections are accepted. The device must be reloaded to clear this condition. Note: These incoming TLS 1.3 connections include both data traffic and user-management traffic. After the device is in the vulnerable state, no new encrypted connections can be accepted. Affected products include: Cisco Firepower Threat Defense, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software.

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Severity by source

Vendor (cisco) PRIMARY 7.7 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from Vendor (cisco) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: cisco

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

A vulnerability in the TLS 1.3 implementation for a specific cipher for Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software for Cisco Firepower 3100 and 4200 Series devices could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to consume resources that are associated with incoming TLS 1.3 connections, which eventually could cause the device to stop accepting any new SSL/TLS or VPN requests.

This vulnerability is due to the implementation of the TLS 1.3 Cipher TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a large number of TLS 1.3 connections with the specific TLS 1.3 Cipher TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition where no new incoming encrypted connections are accepted. The device must be reloaded to clear this condition. Note: These incoming TLS 1.3 connections include both data traffic and user-management traffic. After the device is in the vulnerable state, no new encrypted connections can be accepted.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2025-20127 presents notable security risk rated CVSS 7.7. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments. Organizations should apply vendor updates when available and consider compensating controls in the interim.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Implement network-level access controls to limit exposure; (2) Enable enhanced monitoring and alerting; (3) Apply principle of least privilege.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 59% 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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
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
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
High

Priority Score

38
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +38
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense:7.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense:7.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense:7.4.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense:7.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense:7.4.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense:7.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.20.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.20.1.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.20.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.20.2.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.20.2.21:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.20.2.22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.20.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.20.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.20.3.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.22.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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