Using NPM and NCM to address the latest Cisco Security Advisory

Update – February 7, 2018:

Cisco updated their vulnerability advisory on Monday, February 5, 2018 after identifying “additional attack vectors and features that are affected.” What does this mean? If you patched last week, you may need to patch again. Be sure to read the advisory notice carefully to find out if your environment is at risk.

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(Originally posted Wednesday, January 31, 2018):

What is it?

Earlier this week, Cisco revealed that there is a security vulnerability in the Cisco ASAs, exposing these firewalls to remote attackers. Of course, now we all know about it, as does anyone who may want to exploit this opening. The good news: Cisco has released a critical update to address the issue. The bad news? There is no other workaround, so affected devices must be updated to be secured, and now you’re in a race against anyone who may be trying to take advantage. It’s worth noting that some FirePower devices are affected also, so read the Cisco post in detail to help ensure that you know where your vulnerabilities may lie.

What can you do?

Fortunately, if you have SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM), our own KMSigma has created a report so you can quickly see if you have vulnerable devices. (For a refresher on implementing user-created reports, see How to export and import reports in the Orion web console.)

Once you’ve identified affected devices, you can use Network Configuration Manager (NCM) to easily schedule, patch, and monitor your ASA devices using the firmware upgrade process. Are you running multi-context ASAs? No problem. The firmware upgrade path supports both single- and multi-context upgrades.

In this industry, it doesn’t take long to realize that discovering vulnerabilities of this nature—and subsequently addressing them—is a standard part of the job description. Having the right tools available can make a notable difference in how long your network is exposed and how much effort is required to remediate issues.

Tell us:

Were your devices affected? Have you already updated, and if so, did you use NPM and NCM to do so? Use the comments to tell us how it went. Were you affected but don’t have NPM or NCM? Download free 30-day trials of Network Performance Monitor and Network Configuration Manager today and see how they can help.

Learn more about Network Insight for Cisco ASA:

Did you know that SolarWinds added a new Network Insight feature for Cisco ASA in the NPM 12.2 and NCM 7.7 releases? Learn about all the functionality included in Network Insight for Cisco ASA.