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What is CVE-2022-20922?A medium-severity flaw in Firepower Threat Defense, explained.

Medium severity3 affected products
The short answer

CVE-2022-20922 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 6.5) in Firepower Threat Defense from Cisco, published on 15 November 2022. It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts its chance of use in the next 30 days at 0.9%. If you run an affected version, plan in the vendor’s fix.

Check if it affects you →How to fix it

Published 15 November 2022. Record last updated 25 January 2024. We keep this page's data up to date.

What it does

What is CVE-2022-20922? In plain terms.

It can be attacked from anywhere on the internet without logging in, and nobody has to click anything. If it works, the attacker can change some data and slow it down.

The official description

Multiple vulnerabilities in the Server Message Block Version 2 (SMB2) processor of the Snort detection engine on multiple Cisco products could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass the configured policies or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. These vulnerabilities are due to improper management of system resources when the Snort detection engine is processing SMB2 traffic. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending a high rate of certain types of SMB2 packets through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to trigger a reload of the Snort process, resulting in a DoS condition. Note: When the snort preserve-connection option is enabled for the Snort detection engine, a successful exploit could also allow the attacker to bypass the configured policies and deliver a malicious payload to the protected network. The snort preserve-connection setting is enabled by default. See the Details ["#details"] section of this advisory for more information. Note: Only products that have Snort 3 configured are affected. Products that are configured with Snort 2 are not affected.

What kind of flaw is it?

  • CWE-244Improper Clearing of Heap Memory Before Release ('Heap Inspection')
CVSS 3.1 scoreMedium · 6.5

How an attack on it works

Read straight from its severity rating, translated out of the shorthand.

  • Where an attacker can beAnywhere on the internet
  • How hard it is to pull offEasy: no special conditions
  • Login needed firstNo login needed
  • Does someone have to clickNo, nobody has to do anything
  • What an attacker getsCan change some data and slow it down

Severity vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L

Exploitation

Is CVE-2022-20922 being exploited? Not that we know of.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 0.9%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

Known to be exploitedNoNot on the list of exploited flaws today
Chance of use in the next 30 days0.9%Its EPSS score, from the latest forecast

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Record last updated
How Precursor Intelligence ranks it
31out of 100Low

CVE-2022-20922 scores 31. Action: Monitor.

We keep the score of every published flaw up to date as the evidence changes. Four things go into the score, and evidence that criminals are actually using it counts most. In order:

  • Evidence it is being exploitedBiggest factor
  • How severe it isStrong factor
  • How widely exposed it isSmaller factor
  • Threat activity around itSmaller factor

85 and above is Critical. Anything confirmed as exploited is always marked for an emergency patch, whatever its score.

When CVE-2022-20922 matches software you track, it lands in your list with its score and the reasons behind it.

See your own ranked list →
Affected products

Who is affected by CVE-2022-20922? 3 products.

The published record lists 3 products from 1 vendor. If you run one of these, check your version, then go to the fix below.

Remediation

How do I fix CVE-2022-20922? Four steps.

  1. Check whether you run itCompare your versions with the affected products above. Not sure what you run? Precursor Intelligence can work it out from your public website, or you can pick it from a list.
  2. Apply the vendor’s fixInstall the latest update from the vendor. The references list where the vendor has published details.
  3. If you can’t patch todayFollow any mitigation the vendor publishes, and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet until the update is in.
  4. Keep an eye on itTrack the product and we tell you as soon as we spot this flaw on the list of exploited flaws, or a jump in its exploit likelihood.

References

1 link
Precursor Intelligence

Does CVE-2022-20922 affect you? We'll keep checking.

Looking flaws up one at a time doesn't scale. Tell us what you run once, and we tell you which flaws matter to you, in what order, and keep watching for new ones.

  1. Tell us what you runPick your software from a list, or let us work it out from your website.
  2. We match it to every flawOver 400,000 published flaws, checked against your list.
  3. Ranked by real-world riskA 0 to 100 score, led by evidence criminals are using it.
  4. Told as soon as we knowAn alert by email, in the app or by webhook to your own tools.
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FAQ

Common questions, answered plainly.

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CVE-2022-20922 is a medium-severity flaw in Firepower Threat Defense from Cisco, published on 15 November 2022. It can be attacked from anywhere on the internet without logging in, and nobody has to click anything. If it works, the attacker can change some data and slow it down.

It scores 6.5 out of 10 on the CVSS severity scale, which is medium. Our risk score for CVE-2022-20922 is 31 out of 100, which is Low. Its action is "Monitor". No sign of exploitation and a low forecast. Patch it in your normal update cycle.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 0.9%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

For Firepower Threat Defense from Cisco: 7.1.0, 7.1.0.1, 7.1.0.2, 7.2.0, 7.2.0.1. The record lists 3 products in all, each with its versions, under "Who is affected" on this page.

Install the update the vendor names in its advisory. If you can't patch today, follow the vendor's mitigation and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet.

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