Cyber Resilience

CVE-2016-6367

Command Injection in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software 7.2.0 – 8.4\(3\)

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCCommand Injection
Published
18 August 2016
Modified
22 April 2026
KEV Added
24 May 2022
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.23 98th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2016-6367 is a high-severity Command Injection (CWE-77) vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2016-6367 is a command injection vulnerability (CWE-77) in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software versions prior to 8.4(1) running on ASA 5500, ASA 5500-X, PIX, and FWSM devices. The flaw, tracked as Bug ID CSCtu74257 and also known as EPICBANANA, permits local users to escalate privileges by submitting specially crafted invalid CLI commands.

A local attacker with low-privileged CLI access can exploit the issue without user interaction to obtain elevated privileges, resulting in full control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected device. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 reflects the high impact combined with local attack vector and low attack complexity.

Cisco's security advisory cisco-sa-20160817-asa-cli and related notices direct administrators to upgrade to fixed releases and reference additional context from the Shadow Brokers disclosures. The vulnerability was publicly associated with the 2016 Shadow Brokers leak of NSA-linked exploit tools.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software before 8.4(1) on ASA 5500, ASA 5500-X, PIX, and FWSM devices allows local users to gain privileges via invalid CLI commands, aka Bug ID CSCtu74257 or EPICBANANA.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
24 May 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.008 Network Device CLI Execution
Adversaries may abuse scripting or built-in command line interpreters (CLI) on network devices to execute malicious command and payloads.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-20118Same vendor: Ciscoboth on KEV
CVE-2016-6366Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Softwareboth on KEV
CVE-2021-1498Same vendor: Ciscoboth on KEV
CVE-2020-3452Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Softwareboth on KEV
CVE-2026-20169Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2025-20117Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20097Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2025-20258Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2024-20492Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2026-20186Same vendor: Cisco

Affected Assets

cisco
adaptive security appliance software
7.2.0 — 8.4\(3\) · 8.5 — 9.0\(1\)

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.3
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V1.2.9

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and neutralization that prevent command injection.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring of software and data can detect anomalous command execution resulting from injection.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Identifying recorded vulnerabilities enables remediation of command-injection flaws before exploitation.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

prevents

Secure coding standards require proper escaping and parameterization of commands, directly eliminating CWE-77.

finds

Security testing in development catches command-injection vulnerabilities before release.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and command construction practices that directly prevent command injection.

prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection flaws including command injection.

prevents

Secure architecture principles reduce the attack surface but do not prescribe the specific neutralization techniques needed.

none

Environment separation limits the blast radius of an exploited command injection but does not prevent the flaw itself.

References