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CVE Record

CVE-2019-12677: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software SSL VPN Denial of Service Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN feature of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition that prevents the creation of new SSL/Transport Layer Security (TLS) connections to an affected device. The vulnerability is due to incorrect handling of Base64-encoded strings. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by opening many SSL VPN sessions to an affected device. The attacker would need to have valid user credentials on the affected device to exploit this vulnerability. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to overwrite a special system memory location, which will eventually result in memory allocation errors for new SSL/TLS sessions to the device, preventing successful establishment of these sessions. A reload of the device is required to recover from this condition. Established SSL/TLS connections to the device and SSL/TLS connections through the device are not affected. Note: Although this vulnerability is in the SSL VPN feature, successful exploitation of this vulnerability would affect all new SSL/TLS sessions to the device, including management sessions.

HighCVSS 7.7Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw can let a valid VPN user exhaust a Cisco ASA device so it stops accepting new SSL/TLS connections. Business impact is loss of new VPN and HTTPS management access until the device is reloaded. Existing SSL/TLS connections are reported as unaffected.

Executive priority

Treat as high priority for organizations relying on Cisco ASA for remote access or management. The attack needs credentials, but the outage impact can block new VPN and management sessions until reload.

Technical view

CVE-2019-12677 is an authenticated remote DoS in Cisco ASA Software SSL VPN handling of Base64-encoded strings. Opening many SSL VPN sessions can overwrite a special memory location, eventually causing memory allocation failures for new SSL/TLS sessions. CVSS v3.0 is 7.7 high.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Cisco ASA appliances running ASA Software with SSL VPN enabled. The source bundle does not specify affected versions, so teams must validate release exposure against Cisco guidance.

Exploitation context

The source bundle says exploitation requires valid user credentials and network access to the affected SSL VPN feature. KEV is false, and no cited source in the bundle confirms active exploitation.

Researcher notes

The core condition is incorrect Base64 string handling in SSL VPN session activity, leading to memory corruption-like state and allocation failures. Sources do not provide affected version detail, exploit availability, or confirmed active exploitation.

Mitigation direction

  • Check Cisco advisory for affected releases and vendor update guidance.
  • Identify ASA devices with SSL VPN enabled and prioritize internet-facing systems.
  • Restrict SSL VPN access to trusted users and enforce strong account controls.
  • Monitor for abnormal SSL VPN session volume and SSL/TLS connection failures.
  • Plan reload procedures for recovery if the DoS condition occurs.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Cisco ASA appliances and their ASA Software versions.
  • Confirm whether SSL VPN is enabled on each device.
  • Compare installed versions with Cisco advisory exposure data.
  • Review logs for excessive SSL VPN sessions by authenticated users.
  • Check for memory allocation errors affecting new SSL/TLS sessions.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
3

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-172: Exact CWE lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2019-12677 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.7 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

Official CVE source material

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.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.7CVSS 3.0HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H3.14Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

7.7High
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2019-12677Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
CiscoCisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareunspecifiedListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-172 · source CWE mapping

Encoding Error

Encoding Error represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.