# CVE-2023-20070: A vulnerability in the TLS 1.3 implementation of the Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote at


- **Severity:** Medium 4.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Nov 2023
- **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9929-5h8g-7gv5

## What is CVE-2023-20070?

CVE-2023-20070 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense, published on 1 Nov 2023. 

### Official description

A vulnerability in the TLS 1.3 implementation of the Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the Snort 3 detection engine to unexpectedly restart. This vulnerability is due to a logic error in how memory allocations are handled during a TLS 1.3 session. Under specific, time-based constraints, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted TLS 1.3 message sequence through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Snort 3 detection engine to reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. While the Snort detection engine reloads, packets going through the FTD device that are sent to the Snort detection engine will be dropped. The Snort detection engine will restart automatically. No manual intervention is required.

Weakness: CWE-244 (Improper Clearing of Heap Memory Before Release)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-20070?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-20070?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-20070 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-20070 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20070 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense

- [CVE-2024-20412](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20412/): Hardcoded credentials in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2024-20330](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20330/): Memory corruption in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2024-20339](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20339/): Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software for Firepower 2100 Series TLS Denial of Service Vulnerability (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2024-20351](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20351/): Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software Snort Firewall Denial of Service Vulnerability (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2023-20083](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20083/): Denial of service in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software (high 8.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-20070 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-20070 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense, published on 1 Nov 2023. 
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20070 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense. 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-2023-20070/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20070/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20070
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20070
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-20070

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20070/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.