CVE-2026-20009
Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance SSH Partial Private Key Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
Description
A vulnerability in the implementation of the proprietary SSH stack with SSH key-based authentication in Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to a Cisco Secure Firewall ASA device and execute commands as a specific user. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user input during the SSH authentication phase. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting crafted input during SSH authentication to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to the device as a specific user without the private SSH key of that user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must possess a valid username and the associated public key. The private key is not required. Notes: Exploitation of this vulnerability does not provide the attacker with root access. The authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) configuration command auto-enable is not affected by this vulnerability.
INFO
Published Date :
March 4, 2026, 6:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
March 4, 2026, 6:16 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-20009
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | MITRE-CVE |
Solution
- Update Cisco Secure Firewall ASA Software to the latest version.
- Ensure SSH key-based authentication is properly configured.
- Review and restrict user access privileges.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-20009.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asa-ssh-keybypass-cr5xPUSf |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-20009 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-20009
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-20009 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-20009 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Mar. 04, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description A vulnerability in the implementation of the proprietary SSH stack with SSH key-based authentication in Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to a Cisco Secure Firewall ASA device and execute commands as a specific user. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user input during the SSH authentication phase. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting crafted input during SSH authentication to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to the device as a specific user without the private SSH key of that user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must possess a valid username and the associated public key. The private key is not required. Notes: Exploitation of this vulnerability does not provide the attacker with root access. The authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) configuration command auto-enable is not affected by this vulnerability. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N Added CWE CWE-138 Added Reference https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-asa-ssh-keybypass-cr5xPUSf