Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a denial-of-service weakness in Cisco ASA and FTD WebVPN. An unauthenticated internet user could repeatedly request a vulnerable WebVPN page and drive CPU usage high enough to delay traffic through the device. It does not indicate data theft or device takeover.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate availability risk for remote-access edge infrastructure. Prioritize externally reachable WebVPN devices that carry important traffic, but do not treat this as confirmed compromise or data exposure from the provided evidence.
Technical view
CVE-2019-12698 is a CWE-400 resource-consumption issue in Cisco ASA and FTD WebVPN handling. The source describes excessive processing for a specific WebVPN HTTP page request, reachable remotely without authentication, affecting availability only with CVSS 3.0 score 5.3.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Cisco ASA or FTD devices with WebVPN enabled and reachable from untrusted networks. The bundle does not provide exact affected versions, CPEs, or configuration predicates beyond WebVPN.
Exploitation context
The source describes exploitation by multiple WebVPN HTTP page load requests causing increased CPU and possible traffic delay. CISA KEV status is false, and the provided sources do not state active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
The bundle lacks exact affected version ranges, fixed release details, and indicators beyond a specific WebVPN page request pattern. Validation should stay defensive: version/configuration review, exposure mapping, and operational telemetry for CPU pressure around WebVPN traffic.
Mitigation direction
- Identify ASA and FTD devices with WebVPN enabled.
- Review Cisco advisory for affected and fixed software releases.
- Upgrade or remediate only according to Cisco-published guidance.
- Consider temporary WebVPN exposure reduction after business and vendor review.
Validation and detection
- Inventory public and partner-facing ASA or FTD WebVPN endpoints.
- Compare running software versions against the Cisco advisory.
- Review device CPU and availability logs for unusual WebVPN request-related spikes.
- Confirm whether any compensating controls limit unauthenticated WebVPN HTTP 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-400: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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 lookupCVE-2019-12698 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
- 5.3 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
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:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L3.91.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20191002 Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software WebVPN CPU Denial of Service VulnerabilityCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_CISCO
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.
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.