Cisco ASA/FTD DoS via Syslog RateLimiting Exploit
CVE-2026-20154 Published on September 16, 2026

Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Secure Firewall Threat Defense Software Logging Denial of Service
A vulnerability in the system rate-limiting process for syslog message 419002 of Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause high CPU utilization on an affected device, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to improper rate limiting for syslog message 419002. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a flood of TCP synchronization (SYN) packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause high CPU utilization, resulting in performance degradation. 

NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-20154 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.

Attack Vector:
NETWORK
Attack Complexity:
LOW
Privileges Required:
NONE
User Interaction:
NONE
Scope:
CHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
NONE
Integrity Impact:
NONE
Availability Impact:
HIGH

Weakness Type

What is an Infinite Loop Vulnerability?

The program contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. If the loop can be influenced by an attacker, this weakness could allow attackers to consume excessive resources such as CPU or memory.

CVE-2026-20154 has been classified to as an Infinite Loop vulnerability or weakness.


Products Associated with CVE-2026-20154

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Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance
 

Affected Versions

Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software: Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software: