CVE-2020-3458 Security feature bypass in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
Authenticated local attackers can bypass secure boot to inject persistent code into Cisco ASA and FTD appliances, compromising the boot chain.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2020-3458?
CVE-2020-3458 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, published on 21 Oct 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Multiple vulnerabilities in the secure boot process of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software for the Firepower 1000 Series and Firepower 2100 Series Appliances could allow an authenticated, local attacker to bypass the secure boot mechanism. The vulnerabilities are due to insufficient protections of the secure boot process. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by injecting code into specific files that are then referenced during the device boot process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to break the chain of trust and inject code into the boot process of the device, which would be executed at each boot and maintain persistence across reboots.
Weakness: CWE-693
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-3458?
It affects 2 products.
Products include Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense.
How do I fix CVE-2020-3458?
No fix has been published for CVE-2020-3458 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2020-3458 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3458 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
- CVE-2016-6366 Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SNMP Buffer Overflow
- CVE-2026-20349 Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Heap Inspection
- CVE-2024-20353 Cisco ASA and FTD Denial of Service
- CVE-2016-6367 Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) CLI Remote Code Execution
All Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software vulnerabilities
Sources
Also known as GHSA-xj5h-8prx-gpx7.