Cisco ASA/Firepower Threat Defense IKEv2 memory leak

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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5.4$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Cisco ASA and Firepower Threat Defense and classified as problematic. The impacted element is an unknown function of the component IKEv2 Handler. The manipulation results in memory leak. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2025-20224. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in Cisco ASA and Firepower Threat Defense (the affected version is unknown). Affected is an unknown code of the component IKEv2 Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. This is going to have an impact on availability. CVE summarizes:

A vulnerability in the Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) module of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to trigger a memory leak, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to improper parsing of IKEv2 packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a continuous stream of crafted IKEv2 packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to partially exhaust system memory, causing system instability like being unable to establish new IKEv2 VPN sessions. A manual reboot of the device is required to recover from this condition.

The advisory is shared for download at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2025-20224 since 10/10/2024. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploitation doesn't require any form of authentication. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 08/17/2025). The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1499.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1838). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Affected

  • Cisco IOS
  • Cisco IOS XE
  • Cisco ASA (Adaptive Security Appliance)
  • Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.4

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 5.1
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CNA Base Score: 5.8
CNA Vector (cisco): 🔒

CVSSv2info

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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Memory leak
CWE: CWE-401 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Timelineinfo

10/10/2024 CVE reserved
08/14/2025 +308 days Advisory disclosed
08/14/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/17/2025 +3 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: cisco.com

Advisory: cisco-sa-asa-ftd-ios-dos-DOESHWHy
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2025-20224 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2025-20224
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-320184
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-1838 - Cisco IOS, XE, ASA, FTD: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service

Entryinfo

Created: 08/14/2025 19:47
Updated: 08/17/2025 05:57
Changes: 08/14/2025 19:47 (64), 08/17/2025 05:57 (7)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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