Analysis Summary

Cisco revised its advisory on Monday to alert users to the active exploitation of a security issue that has affected its Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) for ten years. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2014-2120 (CVSS score: 4.3), relates to a situation where ASA's WebVPN login page lacks adequate input validation, which could enable an unauthenticated remote attacker to launch a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against a specific appliance user.

An attacker could exploit this flaw by tricking a user into clicking on a malicious link. The networking equipment major updated its bulletin on December 2, 2024, to reflect the fact that it had learned of more attempts to exploit the vulnerability in the wild.

This news follows researchers' disclosure that the threat actors behind AndroxGh0st are using a long list of security flaws in different internet-facing apps, such as CVE-2014-2120, to spread the malware. Incorporating the Mozi botnet, which enables AndroxGh0st to grow in size and reach, is another noteworthy aspect of the destructive activity.

Consequently, the vulnerability was added to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) database last month, and agencies under the FCEB are required to fix it by December 3, 2024. It is strongly advised that Cisco ASA users maintain their installations up to date for the best security and to protect against any online threats.

Impact

• Unauthorized Access
• Cross-Site Scripting

Indicators of Compromise

CVE

• CVE-2014-2120

Affected Vendors

Remediation

• Refer to the Cisco Security Notice for patch, upgrade, or suggested workaround information.
• Organizations must test their assets for the vulnerability mentioned above and apply the available security patch or mitigation steps as soon as possible.
• Implement multi-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security to login processes.
• Regularly monitor network activity for any unusual behavior, as this may indicate that a cyberattack is underway.
• Organizations must stay vigilant and follow best practices for cybersecurity to protect their systems and data from potential threats. This includes regularly updating software and implementing strong access controls and monitoring tools.
• Develop a comprehensive incident response plan to respond effectively in case of a security breach or data leakage.
• Maintain regular backups of critical data and systems to ensure data recovery in case of a security incident.
• Adhere to security best practices, including the principle of least privilege, and ensure that users and applications have only the necessary permissions.
• Establish a robust patch management process to ensure that security patches are evaluated, tested, and applied promptly.
• Conduct security audits and assessments to evaluate the overall security posture of your systems and networks.
• Implement network segmentation to contain and isolate potential threats to limit their impact on critical systems.