CVE-2021-34698

highpriority · track · 31EPSS 0.014 · 73 %ileEURUUS
grimoire priorityP2 · Scheduled
Exploitable?
—
no known exploitation
Likely / severe?
1.43% (73rd) EPSS
CVSS 7.8 · high
Is it mine?
8 products
Check your exposure
Who says so?
5 sources
cnnvd · enisa_euvd · fstec_bdu · cisco_csaf

EPSS · scored 2026-10-27

A vulnerability in the proxy service of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to exhaust system memory and cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper memory management in the proxy service of an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by establishing a large number of HTTPS connections to the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the system to stop processing new connections, which could result in a DoS condition. Note: Manual intervention may be required to recover from this situation.

01

remediations

Vendor fix, mitigation, or workaround guidance, as published by each source.

A vendor fix is available.

  • FixedCisco Secure Web Appliancecisco_csaf

    Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability.

    https://software.cisco.com
  • WorkaroundCisco Secure Web Appliancecisco_csaf

    There is a workaround that addresses this vulnerability. Customers can use the hidden diagnostic > PROXY > KICK command to restart the proxy process and reclaim memory. While this workaround has been deployed and was proven successful in a test environment, customers should determine the applicability and effectiveness in their own environment and under their own use conditions. Customers should be aware that any workaround or mitigation that is implemented may negatively impact the functionality or performance of their network based on intrinsic customer deployment scenarios and limitations. Customers should not deploy any workarounds or mitigations before first evaluating the applicability to their own environment and any impact to such environment.

02

cvss

Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.

8.6
010

base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · medium–high · 6.9–8.6

v2.07.8highAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:Cprimary · NVD / NIST USexploitability 10 · impact 6.9
v3.17.5highCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:Hprimary · NVD / NIST USexploitability 3.9 · impact 3.6
v3.18.6highAV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:Hsecondary · FSTEC (BDU) RU
v3.18.6highCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:Hsecondary · ENISA EU
v3.18.6highCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:Hsecondary · psirt@cisco.com USexploitability 3.9 · impact 4
v3.16.9mediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:Usecondary · CVSS-BT (t0sche)
v3.18.6highCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:Hsecondary · Cisco PSIRT US
03

ssvc

A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.

Exploitation: none · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalcoordinatorcisa_ssvcUS
04

weaknesses

The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.

CWE-401USprimaryCWE-401US
05

affected products (8)

Products and version ranges known to be affected.

06

advisories (1)

Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.

  • cisco-sa-wsa-dos-fmHdKswkCisco Web Security Appliance Proxy Service Denial of Service Vulnerability2021-10-06csaf · cisco_csafUS

    A vulnerability in the proxy service of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to exhaust system memory and cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper memory management in the proxy service of an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by establishing a large number of HTTPS connections to the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the system to stop processing new connections, which could result in a DoS condition. Note: Manual intervention may be required to recover from this situation. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are workarounds that address this vulnerability.

07

also known as (4)

Other names and identifiers for this entity.

08

sources

Which sources assert this record, and when.

cnnvdenisa_euvdfstec_bducisco_csafnvdNVDCVE.orgMITRE
published 2021-10-06modified 2026-06-17
10

references (8)

External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.

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