Cyber Resilience

CVE-2020-3580

XSS in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software ≤ 9.8.4.34

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedRansomware-linkedXSS
Published
21 October 2020
Modified
11 August 2026
KEV Added
03 November 2021
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.86 99.7th percentile
Risk Priority 75 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2020-3580 is a medium-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software. Its CVSS base score is 6.1 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked in the top 0.3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

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

Multiple vulnerabilities in the web services interface of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow cross-site scripting attacks. The issues stem from insufficient validation of user-supplied input and affect only specific AnyConnect and WebVPN configurations on those products.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the flaws by persuading a user of the interface to click a crafted link. Successful exploitation enables execution of arbitrary script code in the context of the interface or access to sensitive browser-based information.

The Cisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-asaftd-xss-multiple-FCB3vPZe provides details on affected versions and recommended mitigations. CVE-2020-3580 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, confirming observed in-the-wild exploitation.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Multiple vulnerabilities in the web services interface of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks against a user of the web services…

more

interface of an affected device. The vulnerabilities are due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input by the web services interface of an affected device. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by persuading a user of the interface to click a crafted link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary script code in the context of the interface or allow the attacker to access sensitive, browser-based information. Note: These vulnerabilities affect only specific AnyConnect and WebVPN configurations. For more information, see the Vulnerable Products section.

CWE(s)
CWE-79
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1185 Browser Session Hijacking Collection
Adversaries may take advantage of security vulnerabilities and inherent functionality in browser software to change content, modify user-behaviors, and intercept information as part of various browser session hijacking techniques.
attack.mitre.org →
T1539 Steal Web Session Cookie Credential Access
An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
attack.mitre.org →
T1189 Drive-by Compromise Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access to a system through a user visiting a website over the normal course of browsing.
attack.mitre.org →
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.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2014-2120Same product: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Softwareboth on KEV
CVE-2023-20104Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20096Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20137Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20242Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20148Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20133Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20145Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20019Same vendor: Cisco
CVE-2023-20037Same vendor: Cisco

Affected Assets

cisco
secure firewall threat defense
≤ 6.4.0.12 · 6.5.0 — 6.6.4 · 6.7.0 — 6.7.0.2
cisco
adaptive security appliance software
≤ 9.8.4.34 · 9.9 — 9.9.2.85 · 9.10 — 9.12.4.13

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)
  • V1.1.2
  • V1.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

CA-8 Penetration Testing
addresses: CWE-79

Penetration testing submits XSS payloads to web applications, detecting cross-site scripting flaws for subsequent remediation.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-79

Validates web inputs to reject script-related content that could produce XSS.

SI-15 Information Output Filtering
addresses: CWE-79

Output validation against expected content can reject or sanitize script content in generated web pages, reducing XSS exploitability.

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 target introduction of XSS via coding standards/testing (mostly), yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors unaddressed (partial).

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching and EOL replacement can remediate known XSS instances in libraries or frameworks (partial) but do nothing to enforce input neutralization in application code (none).

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Secure-coding testing and automated code-analysis tools are applied to detect improper neutralization of script-related content during web-page generation.

A.5.6 Contact with special interest groups partial match
prevents

Knowledge exchange on emerging attack techniques and patches reduces the likelihood that cross-site scripting flaws remain unaddressed in deployed applications.

A.5.7 Threat intelligence partial match
prevents

Operational indicators of compromise for web-application attacks can be incorporated into WAF or input-filtering rules, lowering the likelihood that unsanitized data reaches the browser.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Requiring language-specific secure-coding standards and automated scanning during the SDLC catches missing output encoding or improper neutralization of untrusted data before the software reaches production.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure-coding standards, SAST scans and removal of insecure code samples together eliminate the failure to neutralize script content that produces cross-site scripting flaws.

A.8.7 Protection against malware none match
none

Webpage malware scanning and block-listing of known malicious sites reduce the likelihood that reflected or stored script payloads reach a user’s browser.

References