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Adaptive Security Appliance Software CVE-2026-20020

MEDIUM
Improper Input Validation (CWE-20)
2026-03-04 psirt@cisco.com
5.7
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Input validation, allowlisting
Impact

CVSS 6.8 (MEDIUM). Attack vector: Adjacent Network. Complexity: Low. Privileges required: Low. User interaction: None. Exploitation no authentication required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker without authentication could exploit this vulnerability to create a buffer overflow, causing the affected device to reload, resulting in a.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026

Insufficient input validation in Cisco Secure Firewall ASA and Secure FTD OSPF implementations allows adjacent attackers to trigger denial of service by sending malformed OSPF update packets that cause device reloads. Authentication bypass is possible if OSPF authentication is disabled, though knowing the secret key is required when authentication is enabled. No patch is currently available for this medium-severity vulnerability.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Mar 12, 2026 - 22:05 CVSS 6.8

OSPF protocol of Cisco Secure Firewall ASA Software and Cisco Secure FTD Software is affected by improper input validation (CVSS 6.8).

RemediationAI

Monitor vendor advisories for a patch. Enable ASLR, DEP/NX, and stack canaries where possible.

Affects your stack

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

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affects OSPF protocol of Cisco Secure Firewall ASA Software and Cisco Secure FTD Software. in the OSPF protocol of Cisco Secure Firewall ASA Software and Cisco Secure FTD Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause an affected device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition. If OSPF authentication is enabled, the attacker must know the secret key to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation when processing OSPF update packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted OSPF update

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 5.7 MEDIUM
AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

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

Lifecycle Timeline

2
CVSS changed
Aug 11, 2026 - 19:37 NVD
6.8 (MEDIUM) 5.7 (MEDIUM)
CVE Published
Mar 04, 2026 - 19:16 nvd
MEDIUM 6.8

DescriptionNVD

A vulnerability in the OSPF protocol of Cisco Secure Firewall ASA Software and Cisco Secure FTD Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause an affected device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition. If OSPF authentication is enabled, the attacker must know the secret key to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation when processing OSPF update packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted OSPF update packets. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to create a buffer overflow, causing the affected device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2026-20020 presents notable security risk, a input validation vulnerability rated CVSS 6.8. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments. Organizations should apply vendor updates when available and monitor for exploitation.

Business Impact: Moderate
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. If patching is delayed: deploy WAF rules, restrict network access, enable logging.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 94% exploitable
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

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 0.0%
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

Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Controlled
Automatable· derived
No

Priority Score

28
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +28
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.2.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.2.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.3.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.3.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.3.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.4.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.4.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.4.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.4.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:9.12.4.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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