Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:HSummary
CVE-2025-20222 is a high-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Cisco Secure Firewall (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 46th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
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-2025-20222 is a denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability in the RADIUS proxy feature for the IPsec VPN component of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software. The issue stems from improper processing of IPv6 packets, which could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to trigger a device reload. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.6 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H) and is associated with CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input).
An unauthenticated, remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IPv6 packets over an IPsec VPN connection to an affected device. Successful exploitation results in a reload of the device, causing a temporary DoS condition that disrupts network traffic processing until the device reboots.
The Cisco Security Advisory at https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-fp2k-IPsec-dos-tjwgdZCO details affected software versions, workarounds, and available patches for mitigation. Security practitioners should consult the advisory for specific upgrade recommendations and configuration guidance to address the vulnerability.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-24847
Vulnerability Data
A vulnerability in the RADIUS proxy feature for the IPsec VPN feature of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of…
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service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to improper processing of IPv6 packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending IPv6 packets over an IPsec VPN connection to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to trigger a reload of the device, resulting in a DoS condition.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.2.1
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and analysis can find missing size checks before deployment.
Input validation directly enforces size checks before buffer copies.
Engineering principles require bounds checking and safe buffer handling in design.
Memory protection limits the impact of an overflow once it occurs.
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.
Secure development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.
Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.
Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.
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.
Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect buffer overflows through fuzzing and static analysis, though it does not prevent them at the source.
Secure development life cycle mandates processes that can include input validation and bounds checking to prevent buffer overflows.
Application security requirements can specify input-size validation and safe buffer handling to mitigate classic buffer overflows.
Secure system architecture and engineering principles promote defensive coding patterns that reduce the likelihood of unchecked buffer copies.