Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a Cisco ASA Smart Tunnel issue where a logged-in local attacker could gain root-level privileges or load a malicious library while a tunnel is being established. Business urgency is moderate: impact is serious if reachable, but the source says exploitation needs local access, low privileges, high complexity, and user interaction.
Executive priority
Handle as a moderate-priority remediation item. It is not shown as actively exploited in the supplied sources, but successful exploitation could produce root-level compromise or malicious library loading in affected Smart Tunnel scenarios.
Technical view
CVE-2019-1945 covers multiple Smart Tunnel vulnerabilities in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software. The CVSS 3.0 score is 6.7 with local attack vector, high complexity, low privileges required, user interaction required, unchanged scope, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. The listed weakness is CWE-20.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Cisco ASA Software uses Smart Tunnel functionality. The supplied bundle does not identify affected version ranges, CPEs, or configuration prerequisites, so teams should confirm product use and compare deployments against Cisco’s advisory.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or any cited evidence of active exploitation. The described attacker is authenticated and local, with exploitation requiring user interaction and high attack complexity. Do not treat this as remotely exploitable based on the supplied evidence.
Researcher notes
Key missing evidence includes affected version ranges, fixed releases, and detailed preconditions. The safest analysis boundary is Cisco ASA Smart Tunnel plus the CVSS vector supplied. Validate against the Cisco advisory before scoping or closing exposure.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco’s advisory for affected releases and vendor-approved fixes.
- Inventory Cisco ASA deployments and identify Smart Tunnel usage.
- Prioritize remediation where Smart Tunnel supports sensitive remote access workflows.
- Restrict local access and low-privileged accounts on systems using the tunnel.
- Monitor Cisco guidance for version-specific upgrade or mitigation instructions.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Cisco ASA Software is deployed in the environment.
- Determine whether Smart Tunnel functionality is enabled or used.
- Map installed ASA versions against Cisco advisory details.
- Review access paths for authenticated local users using Smart Tunnel.
- Check vulnerability management records for CVE-2019-1945 coverage.
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-20: 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-2019-1945 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
- 6.7 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H0.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
6.7MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20190807 Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Smart Tunnel VulnerabilitiesCVE 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.