CVE-2022-20828 | Cisco FirePOWER Software for ASA FirePOWER Module Command Injection Vulnerability

Exp

A vulnerability in the CLI parser of Cisco FirePOWER Software for Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) FirePOWER module could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected ASA FirePOWER module as the root user. This vulnerability is due to improper handling of undefined command parameters. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using a crafted command on the CLI or by submitting a crafted HTTPS request to the web-based management interface of the Cisco ASA that is hosting the ASA FirePOWER module. Note: To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have administrative access to the Cisco ASA. A user who has administrative access to a particular Cisco ASA is also expected to have administrative access to the ASA FirePOWER module that is hosted by that Cisco ASA.

Published: 2022-06-24 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-20828 is rated High Exploit Risk (70.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 53.04%, 98th percentile). Core evidence: 2 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2022-20828

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-20828

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 2025-12-31 75.70% 53.04% -22.66%
2 2025-12-24 80.63% 75.70% -4.93%
3 2025-11-21 80.63%

Full EPSS history (35 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-20828

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N 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:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.2 5.2 [email protected]
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]
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-2022-20828

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-20828

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco asa_firepower < 6.2.3.19 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:asa_firepower:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco asa_firepower >= 6.3.0, < 6.4.0.15 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:asa_firepower:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco asa_firepower >= 6.5.0, < 6.6.7 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:asa_firepower:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco asa_firepower >= 6.7.0, < 7.0.2.1 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:asa_firepower:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-20828

cvelogic Threat Intelligence