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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2020-3452 Cisco CVE debrief

CVE-2020-3452 affects Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) and is described as a read-only path traversal vulnerability. CISA has included it in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, so affected deployments should be treated as urgent patching and validation candidates.

Vendor
Cisco
Product
Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD)
CVSS
HIGH 7.5
CISA KEV
Listed
Original CVE published
2021-11-03
Original CVE updated
2021-11-03
Advisory published
2021-11-03
Advisory updated
2021-11-03

Who should care

Security teams and administrators responsible for Cisco ASA or Firepower Threat Defense appliances, especially systems that are internet-facing or provide remote access services.

Technical summary

The supplied source corpus identifies CVE-2020-3452 as a Cisco ASA and FTD read-only path traversal vulnerability. CISA’s KEV entry marks it as a known exploited issue and directs operators to apply updates per vendor instructions. The corpus does not provide a CVSS score.

Defensive priority

High. Because CISA lists this CVE in KEV, exposed Cisco ASA/FTD devices should be prioritized for immediate inventory, patching, and post-remediation verification.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Inventory all Cisco ASA and Firepower Threat Defense deployments.
  • Apply updates per Cisco vendor instructions as soon as possible.
  • Prioritize internet-facing or remotely accessible appliances for remediation.
  • Verify that affected devices are running the remediated software version after updating.
  • Review Cisco and CISA advisories for any additional guidance tied to this CVE.

Evidence notes

This debrief is based on the supplied CISA KEV source item, which names the issue as "Cisco ASA and FTD Read-Only Path Traversal Vulnerability," identifies Cisco as the vendor, and marks the CVE as known exploited. Official reference links supplied in the corpus include the CVE record, NVD detail, and CISA KEV catalog. No CVSS score was provided in the source corpus.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2020-3452 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-3452

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2020-3452 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3452

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

  • CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog

    Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - Official CISA catalog of vulnerabilities known to be exploited in the wild.

Supplemental references

  • Source item URL

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json

    cisa_kev

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.