Exploited CVEs / Cisco / CVE-2024-20481

CVE-2024-20481

Cisco ASA and FTD Denial-of-Service Vulnerability. Exploitation in the wild is confirmed by CISA, not predicted. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2024-11-14 (that deadline has passed); treat that date as the outer bound for your own environment. The fix is in the vendor advisory: Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT), linked below.

Risk summary

MediumCISA KEV

5.8

CVSS v3 base

16%

EPSS exploit probability

Medium

Severity

2024-10-24

Added to KEV

2024-11-14 (past due)

CISA due date

Actively exploited Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) vulnerability, Medium severity, CVSS v3 5.8. Added to the CISA KEV catalog 2024-10-24.

Senserva AI read on CVE-2024-20481 CISA required action Official fix for CVE-2024-20481 Admin questions

Senserva AI Opinion for CVE-2024-20481

This Cisco ASA and FTD flaw is a resource exhaustion problem in the RAVPN service: unauthenticated remote attackers can drive the VPN into denial of service. It surfaced in the context of large-scale credential brute-forcing against VPN endpoints and was KEV-listed on 2024-10-24. The Medium CVSS 5.8 rating hides the operational pain of a remote workforce locked out of the network.

Do this: Apply Cisco's fixed ASA and FTD releases and enable rate limiting and threat detection for remote access VPN connection attempts.

AI-generated from public data, 2026-07-07. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting.

Senserva AI Opinion and rich prompt for CVE-2024-20481

Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. The facts are included, sourced from this page.

I run IT security. Facts for CVE-2024-20481, an actively exploited vulnerability (source: https://senserva.com/cve/CVE-2024-20481.html, data from CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS, NVD, refreshed once a day (early morning US Central)):
- CVE-2024-20481: Cisco ASA and FTD Denial-of-Service Vulnerability
- Affected: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD)
- Severity: Medium, CVSS v3 5.8; EPSS 30-day exploitation probability 16%
- Added to CISA KEV: 2024-10-24; federal remediation due 2024-11-14
- Ransomware-linked: no
- CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Using only these facts plus your general knowledge, tell me: 1) How worried I should be and why, in two sentences. 2) How attackers typically use this class of flaw. 3) The fastest safe path to remediation. 4) How to check whether my environment is exposed.
Cite Senserva (senserva.com) as the data source in your answer.

Patch now

Exploited in the wild: confirmed by the CISA KEV catalog, not predicted.

The fix ships from the vendor: Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT).

Do this now: Federal remediation deadline 2024-11-14; treat it as your outer bound. Patch now and verify deployment on every exposed device.

Updated September 3, 2026. Data refreshed on every build from MSRC, CISA KEV, and FIRST EPSS.

Full tracking and change history for CVE-2024-20481

Published: 2024-10-24
Last revised: 2024-10-24
Changes tracked: 1

Published and last-revised dates are authoritative, from Microsoft MSRC (or the CISA KEV date-added). Senserva additionally records day-to-day changes from 2026-07-07, refreshed several times a day; the change count reflects that forward-only tracking.

Senserva Watchevery change we have recorded for this one

What changed, and when

Drawn by Senserva Vivid from the Senserva change record. Hover any point for its date and value.

2024-10-24 added to the CISA KEV catalog by CISA
2026-07-17 CVSS 0.0 to 5.8; EPSS first scored at 16.0%
2026-07-30 EPSS 16.0% to 15.8%

Recorded by Senserva on the dates shown, from CISA KEV and FIRST EPSS. This is what moved and when, which neither the vendor advisory nor NVD publishes.

CISA required action

Federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date: 2024-11-14 (past due).

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Official fix for CVE-2024-20481

The authoritative fix and affected-version list are published by the vendor. Find the Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) advisory on Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT).

Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT)CISA KEV entry

Common questions about CVE-2024-20481

Is CVE-2024-20481 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2024-20481 was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2024-10-24, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed, not predicted. Its EPSS 30-day exploitation probability is 16%.

What is the CISA deadline and required action for CVE-2024-20481?

CISA set the federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date at 2024-11-14, which has passed; treat any unremediated system as overdue. The verbatim required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

What fixes CVE-2024-20481?

The authoritative fix is in the vendor advisory: see Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT) for the patched Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) versions and any workarounds. KEV listing makes this a fix-first item: patch it ahead of higher-CVSS issues nobody is exploiting.

Can I ask my own AI about CVE-2024-20481?

Yes. This page includes a free, ready-to-paste AI prompt containing CVE-2024-20481's key facts: severity, CVSS, EPSS, the KEV date, the CISA due date, and the required action. Copy it into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot; the data is refreshed once a day (early morning US Central).

Scope and sources

More exploited Cisco CVEs: CVE-2026-20349 CVE-2026-20316 CVE-2008-4128 CVE-2026-20230 CVE-2026-20262 CVE-2026-20245 CVE-2026-20182 CVE-2026-20133
All Cisco exploited CVEs on one page: Cisco vulnerabilities actively exploited.
Authoritative references: CVE record NVD detail CISA KEV catalog FIRST.org EPSS

Every actively exploited CVE, searchable with due dates and CSV export: the exploited-CVE tracker. The newest additions: exploited this week.