CVE-2010-0569 in ASA 5500
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliance 7.0 before 7.0(8.10), 7.2 before 7.2(4.45), 8.0 before 8.0(5.2), 8.1 before 8.1(2.37), and 8.2 before 8.2(1.16); and Cisco PIX 500 Series Security Appliance; allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via malformed SIP messages, aka Bug ID CSCtc96018.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/01/2026
The vulnerability described in CVE-2010-0569 represents a critical denial of service flaw affecting Cisco's widely deployed ASA 5500 Series and PIX 500 Series security appliances. This issue specifically targets the handling of Session Initiation Protocol messages within the affected software versions, creating a condition where remote attackers can trigger device reloads through the careful crafting of malformed SIP packets. The vulnerability affects multiple major release lines including version 7.0 through 8.2, with specific patch levels required to address the issue, indicating a significant security gap that persisted across several software generations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the SIP processing module of the affected Cisco appliances. When these devices receive malformed SIP messages, the parsing logic fails to properly handle the unexpected data structures, leading to an uncontrolled application state that results in device system crashes and subsequent automatic reloads. This behavior aligns with CWE-129, which describes improper validation of input ranges, and CWE-362, which covers race conditions that can lead to system instability. The flaw operates at the protocol processing layer where SIP traffic is inspected and handled by the appliance's security mechanisms, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited without requiring authentication or specialized privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple service interruption, as it can compromise the availability of critical network security infrastructure. Organizations relying on these appliances for network segmentation, firewall protection, and intrusion prevention may experience significant downtime when exploited, potentially disrupting business operations and leaving networks vulnerable to other attacks during the recovery period. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can trigger these reloads from anywhere on the internet, making the vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations with exposed security appliances. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks, and T1595.001, representing reconnaissance through network scanning that could lead to exploitation of such vulnerabilities.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-0569 require immediate patch deployment across all affected Cisco appliances, with particular attention to the specific version thresholds mentioned in the vulnerability description. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit exposure of these appliances to untrusted networks and consider deploying additional monitoring to detect anomalous SIP traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The Cisco security advisory recommends upgrading to the patched versions as soon as possible, with the specific release notes indicating that versions 7.0(8.10), 7.2(4.45), 8.0(5.2), 8.1(2.37), and 8.2(1.16) contain the necessary fixes. Network administrators should also consider implementing rate limiting and access control lists to restrict SIP traffic to only trusted sources, while maintaining detailed logging of SIP message processing to aid in forensic analysis if exploitation occurs.