CVE-2018-0229 Auth bypass in Cisco ASA Software, FTD Software, and AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client

What is CVE-2018-0229?

CVE-2018-0229 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, published on 19 Apr 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

Official description

A vulnerability in the implementation of Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Desktop Platforms, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software, and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to establish an authenticated AnyConnect session through an affected device running ASA or FTD Software. The authentication would need to be done by an unsuspecting third party, aka Session Fixation. The vulnerability exists because there is no mechanism for the ASA or FTD Software to detect that the authentication request originates from the AnyConnect client directly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user to click a crafted link and authenticating using the company's Identity Provider (IdP). A successful exploit could allow the attacker to hijack a valid authentication token and use that to establish an authenticated AnyConnect session through an affected device running ASA or FTD Software. This vulnerability affects the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, and ASA Software and FTD Software configured for SAML 2.0-based SSO for AnyConnect Remote Access VPN that is running on the following Cisco products: 3000 Series Industrial Security Appliances (ISA), ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances, ASA 5500-X Series Next-Generation Firewalls, ASA Services Module for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches and Cisco 7600 Series Routers, Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance (ASAv), Firepower 2100 Series Security Appliance, Firepower 4100 Series Security Appliance, Firepower 9300 ASA Security Module, FTD Virtual (FTDv). Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvg65072, CSCvh87448.

Weakness: CWE-384

Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-0229?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, Cisco Anyconnect Secure Mobility Client.

How do I fix CVE-2018-0229?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-0229 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.

Is CVE-2018-0229 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0229 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software

• CVE-2025-20333 Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Buffer Overflow Exploited Critical 9.9
• CVE-2016-6366 Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SNMP Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2026-20349 Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Heap Inspection Exploited High 8.6
• CVE-2024-20353 Cisco ASA and FTD Denial of Service Exploited High 8.6
• CVE-2016-6367 Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) CLI Remote Code Execution Exploited High 7.8

All Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-jp4c-v6vq-9m4m.