`CVE-2023-20107` Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance

Affected software	Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance
Severity	7.5 High CVSS 3.1 2 scores
Weakness	CWE-332
Published	23 Mar 2023
Updated	11 Aug 2026

Description

A vulnerability in the deterministic random bit generator (DRBG), also known as pseudorandom number generator (PRNG), in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software for Cisco ASA 5506-X, ASA 5508-X, and ASA 5516-X Firewalls could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a cryptographic collision, enabling the attacker to discover the private key of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient entropy in the DRBG for the affected hardware platforms when generating cryptographic keys. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by generating a large number of cryptographic keys on an affected device and looking for collisions with target devices. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to impersonate an affected target device or to decrypt traffic secured by an affected key that is sent to or from an affected target device.

CWE-331

Exploitation status

No public exploit

No exploit has been reported in the sources we check. Published 3 years ago.

CISA KEV not listed
VulnCheck KEV not listed
CISA Vulnrichment no assessment published
Indexed PoC none indexed
EPSS 0.72% chance in 30 days

Waratek protection

Outside Waratek scope

A Java vulnerability, but not one Waratek protects. It affects only Java on a user's desktop (applets, Web Start, JavaFX, the installer), sits in a product the Waratek agent can't be installed into, or is in a package we don't expect in business applications. The decision below says which.

Protection none
Action not pursued none
Review automated Upstream data
Record active

Decided by	The only affected product being a sealed appliance image, where Java runs but no -javaagent can be attached
Finding	This CVE names only products the Waratek agent cannot be installed into (cisco/secure_firewall_threat_defense). They ship as sealed appliance images or as native code with no application JVM, so there is no start-up line to add -javaagent to. The vulnerability may well be a Java one; it is permanently out of ARMR's reach rather than outside its subject.

Decided by

The only affected product being a sealed appliance image, where Java runs but no -javaagent can be attached

Finding

This CVE names only products the Waratek agent cannot be installed into (cisco/secure_firewall_threat_defense). They ship as sealed appliance images or as native code with no application JVM, so there is no start-up line to add -javaagent to. The vulnerability may well be a Java one; it is permanently out of ARMR's reach rather than outside its subject.

CVSS

7.5 HIGH v3.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N 2 metrics

We show the highest score from the newest CVSS version. Scores from different versions can't be compared, and the first score listed is sometimes a 0.0 placeholder.

Version Score Band Vector Assigner Type

CVSS 3.1 7.5 HIGH CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N NVD Primary published

CVSS 3.0 5.3 MEDIUM CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N psirt@cisco.com Secondary

Version	Score	Band	Vector	Assigner	Type
CVSS 3.1	7.5	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`	NVD	Primary	published
CVSS 3.0	5.3	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`	psirt@cisco.com	Secondary

Affected software and releases

Products and versions

2 products, 2 version entries

Source	Vendor	Product	Scheme	Affected versions
nvd	cisco	adaptive security appliance	generic	＜ 9.12.1
nvd	cisco	secure firewall threat defense	generic	＜ 6.4.0

Source

Vendor

Product

Scheme

Affected versions

nvd

cisco

adaptive security appliance

generic

＜ 9.12.1

nvd

cisco

secure firewall threat defense

generic

＜ 6.4.0

References

URL	Tags
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asa5500x-entropy-6v9bHVYP	Vendor Advisory

URL

Timeline

Published	2023-03-23	By the CVE Program.
NVD record modified	2026-08-11	NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

Published

2023-03-23

By the CVE Program.

NVD record modified

2026-08-11

NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

How VRT decided (15 of 24 rules ran)

15 of 24 rules ran. The rest didn't run because an earlier rule had already settled the CVE.

# Rule Outcome Status Detail

identity: Does this identifier describe a vulnerability at all? the first rule that matches decides

1 rejected no match CVE Program withdrawal of this identifier

scope: Is it a vulnerability Waratek protects? the first rule that matches decides

2 armr-patch-file no match An ARMR patch file on disk for this CVE

3 armr-secure-rule-file no match An ARMR security-rule template on disk for this CVE

4 manual-classification no match A researcher's recorded decision for this specific CVE

5 manual classification no match Manual classification of this CVE in the legacy dataset

6 non-java-upstream no match A root cause in non-Java code: an OS kernel, a C library, or a bundled runtime

7 oracle-component no match The defect being in a component of a tracked product the agent does not reach: JavaFX, the Java SE installer, the JInitiator browser plug-in, the native WebLogic proxy plug-in, or a native part of Oracle Application Server or Collaboration Suite (HTTP Server, Web Cache, Internet Directory, mail and calendar servers). Oracle gives these no CPE of their own and names them only in the description.

8 java-client-side no match Oracle's own risk-matrix note saying the CVE is reached only through untrusted code in the Java sandbox (applets, Web Start) or only through a client installation of Java, so a server running its own trusted code is not exposed

9 osv-maven no match An OSV.dev record of this CVE affecting a package published to Maven Central. When every such package is one business applications do not use (Minecraft mods and launchers, Fastjson) and no tracked product is named by CPE, it settles the CVE as Outside Waratek scope instead

10 cna-maven-package no match An affected Maven artifact named by the CNA itself

11 known-cpe-product no match An NVD CPE naming a product ARMR tracks

12 cna-cpe-product no match A CPE the CNA published naming a tracked product. Oracle publishes these on advisory day, months before NVD.

13 oracle-advisory-family no match A tracked product family named in Oracle's own risk matrix. CPE cannot carry a suite name, only a module.

14 cna-named-product no match A tracked product named in words by the CVE's own CNA, on a record with no CPE yet. Apache and Eclipse publish these on advisory day, before NVD adds CPE data.

15 non-deployable-product decided it matched Outside Waratek scope Named products cannot host a Java agent: cisco/secure_firewall_threat_defense

16 unmatched-product not reached No tracked product matched above, and none present at all

disposition: What do we do about one that is? every rule runs

17 patch-hint not reached A reference pointing at the upstream fix: a commit, a PR, a Red Hat bug

18 open-source-maven not reached The affected package being open source on Maven, so the fix can be read

19 poc-derivable not reached An indexed exploit clearing the evidence bar to reverse-engineer, where there is no source to read

20 no-exploit not reached Nothing to build a rule from yet: no published exploit, no CISA record of exploitation and no source-level change to read

21 secure-rule-match not reached A vulnerability class already blocked by an ARMR security rule

22 exploited-no-fix-or-poc not reached Somebody exploiting this CVE (a CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, or a CISA verdict of active exploitation), with no fix, source code or PoC to build a rule from

23 below-action-threshold not reached Medium or Low severity, no CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, no PoC clearing the evidence bar, no CISA verdict, no Oracle advisory

24 no-exploit-published not reached Exploit code for this candidate, published in a reviewed catalogue or a GitHub repository with 5 or more stars, or in use per CISA or VulnCheck; not only a CISA verdict, a forecast, or nothing at all

Products the scope rules checked

The products this CVE's record names, and whether VRT tracks each one. The scope rules decided on these.

Vendor Product Tracked CPE Source

cisco adaptive_security_appliance not tracked cpe:2.3:a:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

cisco secure_firewall_threat_defense not tracked cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_firewall_threat_defense:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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