VulnerabilityPublished 16 Sep 2026Updated 18 Sep 2026

CVE-2026-20120: Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software · Improper Access Control

Affects Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.8 Medium.

Data as of 1 Nov 2026, 11:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.8Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 43% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N

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

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 1 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
CiscoCisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software	Affected 9.22.1.1 – 9.23.1.22 16 affected builds	Fixed in–
CiscoCisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software	Affected 7.6.0 – 7.7.11 8 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Until a patch is available, monitor vendor communications for updates and consider restricting exposure of affected devices to untrusted networks where feasible.

Description

A vulnerability in the access control list (ACL) Object Group Search (OGS) implementation of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass configured access controls. This vulnerability is due to a logic error in populating group access control policies (ACPs) with OGS configured. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending traffic that should be blocked through the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass access controls and reach devices in protected networks.

Impact

An unauthenticated remote attacker could bypass configured access controls on affected Cisco ASA and FTD devices. This could allow unauthorized traffic to reach devices within protected networks, potentially undermining network segmentation and security policies. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality but can impact integrity by allowing unauthorized access and does not affect availability.

Summary

This vulnerability arises from a logic error in how group access control policies (ACPs) are populated when Object Group Search (OGS) is configured in Cisco Secure Firewall ASA and FTD software. An attacker can exploit this flaw by sending traffic that bypasses the intended access control lists, effectively circumventing network access restrictions. The vulnerability affects multiple exact versions of Cisco ASA software as listed, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.8 indicating medium severity. There is no indication of active exploitation or vendor-provided patches in the provided data.

References

sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ftd-acl-bypass-8p6vFvw (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 24 Sep 2026, 04:32 UTC

Technical details

References

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