CVE-2026-20049

A vulnerability in the processing of Galois/Counter Mode (GCM)-encrypted Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2) IPsec traffic of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to the allocation of an insufficiently sized block of memory. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted GCM-encrypted IPsec traffic to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause an unexpected reload of the device, resulting in a DoS condition. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid credentials to establish a VPN connection with the affected device.

Published: 2026-03-04 Last update: 2026-04-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-20049 is rated Moderate Risk (44/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.17%). Mandatory action: 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-2026-20049

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 2026-03-10 0.14% 0.17% +0.03%
2 2026-03-05 0.14%

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-20049

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.7 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.1 4.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-20049

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-20049

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.18.1, < 9.18.4.66 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.19.1, < 9.20.3.20 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.22.1.1, < 9.22.2.4 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco adaptive_security_appliance_software >= 9.23.1, < 9.23.1.3 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco firepower_threat_defense_software >= 7.2.0, < 7.2.11 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco firepower_threat_defense_software >= 7.3.0, < 7.4.3 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco firepower_threat_defense_software >= 7.6.0, < 7.6.4 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco firepower_threat_defense_software >= 7.7.0, < 7.7.10 cpe:2.3:a:cisco:firepower_threat_defense_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-20049

cvelogic Threat Intelligence