CVE-2025-20135
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance and Firepower Threat Defense Software DHCP Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the DHCP client functionality of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to exhaust available memory.
This vulnerability is due to improper validation of incoming DHCP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by repeatedly sending crafted DHCPv4 packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust available memory, which would affect availability of services and prevent new processes from starting, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) condition that would require a manual reboot. Note: On Cisco Secure FTD Software, this vulnerability does not affect management interfaces.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Adjacent network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance and Firepower Threat Defense Software DHCP Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the DHCP client functionality of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to exhaust available memory.
This vulnerability is due to improper validation of incoming DHCP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by repeatedly sending crafted DHCPv4 packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust available memory, which would affect availability of services and prevent new processes from starting, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) condition that would require a manual reboot. Note: On Cisco Secure FTD Software, this vulnerability does not affect management interfaces.
- Record
CVE-2025-20135- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-401
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2025-24853
A vulnerability in the DHCP client functionality of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to exhaust available memory.
This vulnerability is due to improper validation of incoming DHCP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by repeatedly sending crafted DHCPv4 packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust available memory, which would affect availability of services and prevent new processes from starting, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) condition that would require a manual reboot. Note: On Cisco Secure FTD Software, this vulnerability does not affect management interfaces.
- Record
EUVD-2025-24853- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-j8qj-frmg-5g7v
A vulnerability in the DHCP client functionality of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security...
A vulnerability in the DHCP client functionality of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to exhaust available memory.
This vulnerability is due to improper validation of incoming DHCP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by repeatedly sending crafted DHCPv4 packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust available memory, which would affect availability of services and prevent new processes from starting, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) condition that would require a manual reboot. Note: On Cisco Secure FTD Software, this vulnerability does not affect management interfaces.
- Record
GHSA-j8qj-frmg-5g7v- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-401
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A vulnerability in the DHCP client functionality of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to exhaust available memory.
This vulnerability is due to improper validation of incoming DHCP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by repeatedly sending crafted DHCPv4 packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust available memory, which would affect availability of services and prevent new processes from starting, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) condition that would require a manual reboot. Note: On Cisco Secure FTD Software, this vulnerability does not affect management interfaces.
- Record
CVE-2025-20135- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-401
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2025-20135 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.3) in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (asa) Software, published August 14, 2025. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.22%, the 12th percentile. No source names a fixed version.