# CVE-2018-0296: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Denial-of-Service > Unauthenticated attackers can cause denial of service or view sensitive system information via crafted HTTP requests to Cisco ASA devices. - **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 3 Nov 2021 (CISA KEV) - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** No - **Published:** 7 Jun 2018 - **Updated:** 12 Jan 2026 - **Also known as:** GHSA-h2mj-pqgp-xmmj ## What is CVE-2018-0296? CVE-2018-0296 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, published on 7 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description A vulnerability in the web interface of the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. It is also possible on certain software releases that the ASA will not reload, but an attacker could view sensitive system information without authentication by using directory traversal techniques. The vulnerability is due to lack of proper input validation of the HTTP URL. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to an affected device. An exploit could allow the attacker to cause a DoS condition or unauthenticated disclosure of information. This vulnerability applies to IPv4 and IPv6 HTTP traffic. This vulnerability affects Cisco ASA Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software that is running on the following Cisco products: 3000 Series Industrial Security Appliance (ISA), ASA 1000V Cloud Firewall, 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: CSCvi16029. Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory), CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-0296? It affects 3 products. Products: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, Cisco Firepower Threat Defense, Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense. ## How do I fix CVE-2018-0296? No fix has been published for CVE-2018-0296 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 3 May 2022. ## Is CVE-2018-0296 being exploited? Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2018-0296 in the wild since at least 3 Nov 2021. Public exploit code: - Script to test for Cisco ASA path traversal vulnerability (CVE-2018-0296) and extract system information. (github_poc): https://github.com/yassineaboukir/CVE-2018-0296 - Test CVE-2018-0296 and extract usernames (github_poc): https://github.com/milo2012/CVE-2018-0296 - Cisco ASA - CVE-2018-0296 | Exploit (github_poc): https://github.com/bhenner1/CVE-2018-0296 - Cisco ASA Directory Traversal (metasploit) - Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance - Path Traversal (exploitdb) - https://github.com/milo2012/CVE-2018-0296.git (github_poc): https://github.com/qiantu88/CVE-2018-0296 ## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software - [CVE-2025-20333](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20333/): Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Buffer Overflow (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2016-6366](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6366/): Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SNMP Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2026-20349](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20349/): Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Heap Inspection (high 8.6, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2024-20353](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20353/): Cisco ASA and FTD Denial of Service (high 8.6, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2016-6367](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6367/): Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) CLI Remote Code Execution (high 7.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2018-0296 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2018-0296 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, published on 7 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2018-0296 in the wild since at least 3 Nov 2021. Affected product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software. 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-2018-0296/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0296/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-0296 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0296 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-0296 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0296/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.