Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This issue affects Cisco ASA 8.4(1) AnyConnect VPN deployments using LDAP for secondary authentication. A user with valid primary credentials could leave the secondary password blank and still authenticate. The business risk is unauthorized VPN access after primary credential compromise, not full unauthenticated takeover.
Executive priority
Prioritize review where Cisco ASA 8.4(1) still protects remote access. This is not rated critical, but VPN authentication weaknesses can materially increase exposure after credential theft.
Technical view
CVE-2011-2054 is an improper authentication/input-validation issue in Cisco ASA. When secondary authentication is LDAP, a blank secondary password may be accepted if primary authentication succeeds. The CVSS 3.1 score is 4.3, with network access, low attack complexity, and required low privileges.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to Cisco ASA version 8.4(1) deployments using Cisco AnyConnect VPN with LDAP configured as secondary authentication.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation requires correct primary credentials, so risk rises if VPN credentials are phished, reused, or otherwise compromised.
Researcher notes
Evidence is narrow: the source bundle names Cisco ASA 8.4(1), AnyConnect VPN, LDAP secondary authentication, blank secondary password handling, CWE-287, and CVSS 4.3. No exploit details, public exploitation, or specific fixed release are provided.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco bug CSCtq58884 and current Cisco guidance for fixed software or workarounds.
- Identify Cisco ASA 8.4(1) appliances providing AnyConnect VPN with LDAP secondary authentication.
- Treat compromised primary VPN credentials as sufficient to attempt this bypass path.
- Add monitoring for successful VPN logins where secondary authentication evidence is missing or anomalous.
- Restrict VPN access by network, device posture, or conditional access where available.
Validation and detection
- Inventory ASA software versions and confirm whether 8.4(1) is present.
- Review AnyConnect profiles for LDAP secondary authentication configuration.
- Check authentication logs for successful sessions with incomplete secondary authentication indicators.
- Verify current Cisco advisory status before deciding remediation timing.
- Confirm primary credential compromise response plans cover VPN access.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-287: Credential and account abuse lookup
Authentication and credential weaknesses can make valid-account abuse and credential telemetry useful review starting points. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2011-2054 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N2.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://quickview.cloudapps.cisco.com/quickview/bug/CSCtq58884CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Authentication
Improper Authentication represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.