# CVE-2009-4455: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Authenticated users can bypass WebVPN access restrictions to reach unauthorized backend servers via obfuscated URLs in Cisco ASA devices.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Dec 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gmxh-fcvg-35xj

## What is CVE-2009-4455?

CVE-2009-4455 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 29 Dec 2009. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The default configuration of Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliance (Cisco ASA) 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 8.0, 8.1, and 8.2 allows portal traffic to access arbitrary backend servers, which might allow remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions and access unauthorized web sites via a crafted URL obfuscated with ROT13 and a certain encoding.  NOTE: this issue was originally reported as a vulnerability related to lack of restrictions to URLs listed in the Cisco WebVPN bookmark component, but the vendor states that "The bookmark feature is not a security feature."

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-4455?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance 5500.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-4455?

No fix has been published for CVE-2009-4455 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2009-4455 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-4455 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2009-1155](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1155/): Auth bypass in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2009-1157](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1157/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2009-1158](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1158/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2009-1159](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1159/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2008-2732](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-2732/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-4455 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-4455 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 29 Dec 2009. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-4455 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4455/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4455/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-4455
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-4455
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-4455

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4455/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.