Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- EPSS is 0.33% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2022
CVE-2022-20826High confidence
Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software — Trust Boundary Violation
Cisco · Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
Official source article: Cisco CISCO-SA-FW3100-SECURE-BOOT-5M8MUH26 ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.
6.4MediumCVSS 3.1
Scheduled
Fix not verifiedMedium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityMedium→Operational priority:Medium, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software 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.
Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
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.
What
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.
Why
The product mixes trusted and untrusted data in the same data structure or structured message.
How
An attacker operating through physical access 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 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.
Why
The product mixes trusted and untrusted data in the same data structure or structured message.
How
An attacker operating through physical access 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
- physical access → Trust Boundary Violation → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Physical
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High: exploitation depends on specific conditions
- 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-501 ↗
CWE-501: Trust Boundary Violation. The product mixes trusted and untrusted data in the same data structure or structured message.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVPhysicalAttack vector: The attacker needs physical access to the vulnerable system.ACHighAttack complexity: Successful exploitation depends on specific conditions outside the attacker's direct control.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.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.- 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 (ASA) Software: 9.17.1, 9.17.1.9, 9.17.1.10, 9.17.1.13, 9.18.1, 9.18.1.3
- Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software: 7.1.0, 7.2.0, 7.2.0.1
- 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. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 10 Nov 2022 · Last source change 3 Aug 2024, 02:24 UTC · CWE-501 · Trust Boundary Violation
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-26076
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.
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.