CVE-2019-15992 | Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the implementation of the Lua interpreter integrated in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code with root privileges on the underlying Linux operating system of an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient restrictions on the allowed Lua function calls within the context of user-supplied Lua scripts. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to trigger a heap overflow condition and execute arbitrary code with root privileges on the underlying Linux operating system of an affected device.

Published: 2020-09-23 Last update: 2024-11-26 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2019-15992 is rated Moderate Risk (60.1/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 3.95%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-15992

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 3.77% 3.95% +0.18%
2 2026-05-18 5.02% 3.77% -1.25%
3 2025-09-25 — 5.02% —

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-15992

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.2 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.2 5.9 [email protected]
7.2 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.2 5.9 [email protected]
9.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 8.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2019-15992

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-15992

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco adaptive_security_appliance < 9.6.4.36 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.7, < 9.8.4.15 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.9, < 9.9.2.61 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.10, < 9.10.1.32 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.12, < 9.12.3 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.13, < 9.13.1.4 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.14, < 9.14.2.7 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.15, < 9.15.1.4 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco secure_firewall_management_center < 6.2.3.16 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_firewall_management_center:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco secure_firewall_management_center >= 6.3.0, < 6.3.0.6 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_firewall_management_center:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco secure_firewall_management_center >= 6.4.0, < 6.4.0.7 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_firewall_management_center:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco secure_firewall_management_center >= 6.5.0, < 6.5.0.2 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_firewall_management_center:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco firepower_threat_defense — cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-15992

cvelogic Threat Intelligence