Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
- EPSS is 2.03% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2018
CVE-2018-0227High confidence
n/a Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance: Improper Certificate Validation
Unknown · Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance
Official source article: Cisco CISCO-SA-20180418-ASA1 ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.
7.5HighCVSS 3.1
Within 7 days
Fix not verifiedHigh technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityHigh→Operational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Unknown Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
A vulnerability in the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Virtual Private Network (VPN) Client Certificate Authentication feature for Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to establish an SSL VPN connection and bypass certain SSL certificate verification steps. The vulnerability is due to incorrect verification of the SSL Client Certificate. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to the ASA VPN without a proper private key and certificate pair. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to establish an SSL VPN connection to the ASA when the connection should have been rejected. This vulnerability affects Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software that is running on the following Cisco products: 3000 Series Industrial Security Appliances (ISA), ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances, ASA 5500-X Series Next-Generation Firewalls, ASA Services Module for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches and Cisco 7600 Series Routers, Adaptive Security Virtual Appliances (ASAv), Firepower 4110 Security Appliances, Firepower 9300 ASA Security Modules. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvg40155.
What
A vulnerability in the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Virtual Private Network (VPN) Client Certificate Authentication feature for Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to establish an SSL VPN connection and bypass certain SSL certificate verification steps. The vulnerability is due to incorrect verification of the SSL Client Certificate. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to the ASA VPN without a proper private key and certificate pair. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to establish an SSL VPN connection to the ASA when the connection should have been rejected. This vulnerability affects Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software that is running on the following Cisco products: 3000 Series Industrial Security Appliances (ISA), ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances, ASA 5500-X Series Next-Generation Firewalls, ASA Services Module for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches and Cisco 7600 Series Routers, Adaptive Security Virtual Appliances (ASAv), Firepower 4110 Security Appliances, Firepower 9300 ASA Security Modules. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvg40155.
Why
The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
A vulnerability in the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Virtual Private Network (VPN) Client Certificate Authentication feature for Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to establish an SSL VPN connection and bypass certain SSL certificate verification steps. The vulnerability is due to incorrect verification of the SSL Client Certificate. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to the ASA VPN without a proper private key and certificate pair. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to establish an SSL VPN connection to the ASA when the connection should have been rejected. This vulnerability affects Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software that is running on the following Cisco products: 3000 Series Industrial Security Appliances (ISA), ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances, ASA 5500-X Series Next-Generation Firewalls, ASA Services Module for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches and Cisco 7600 Series Routers, Adaptive Security Virtual Appliances (ASAv), Firepower 4110 Security Appliances, Firepower 9300 ASA Security Modules. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvg40155.
Why
The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- a network path → Improper Certificate Validation → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Network
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-295 ↗
CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation. The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:NCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Fix not verified
- Affected
- Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance
- Fixed
- No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Action
- No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 19 Apr 2018 · Last source change 29 Nov 2024, 15:19 UTC · CWE-295 · Improper Certificate Validation
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-01
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2018-1050
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Missing structured fields: affected product. Missing data is not evidence of low risk; review the primary advisory.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
- ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2018-1050 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.ENISA EUVD ↗
- Before
- not recorded
- After
- {"euvdId":"EUVD-2018-1050"}
- Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added vendor advisory: tools.cisco.com/cisco-sa-20180418-asa1.tools.cisco.com ↗
- Before
- no authoritative guidance recorded
- After
- vendor advisory: tools.cisco.com/cisco-sa-20180418-asa1
- SeveritySeverity changed from Unknown to High.NIST NVD ↗
- Before
- Unknown
- After
- High
- CVSS scoreCVSS score changed from not recorded to 7.5 (CVSS 3.1 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N).NIST NVD ↗
- Before
- not recorded
- After
- 7.5 (CVSS 3.1 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N)
- Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.CNA ↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.