CISA warns federal agencies to patch flawed Cisco firewalls amid ‘active exploitation’ across the US government

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a stark warning to federal agencies regarding vulnerabilities in Cisco firewalls that are currently being targeted in an active hacking campaign. In an advisory released on Wednesday, CISA highlighted the urgent need for government departments to implement necessary patches to safeguard their networks. CISA is monitoring the exploitation of two significant security vulnerabilities in Cisco's Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software. This software is widely used in enterprise-grade firewalls that protect both corporate and governmental networks from external threats. The agency reported that an advanced threat actor has been exploiting these flaws since September, prompting CISA to issue its third emergency directive this year, mandating that agencies address these vulnerabilities immediately. While some federal agencies have confirmed that they have applied the required patches, CISA has noted that others remain at risk. Specific department names were not disclosed, but the agency strongly encourages all entities using affected Cisco devices to update to the latest patch version to mitigate the risk of exploitation. In related news, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently admitted to being hacked, with reports indicating that foreign hackers accessed sensitive emails and chat logs between lawmakers and agency researchers. Security expert Kevin Beaumont revealed that the CBO had been using an unpatched Cisco firewall prior to the U.S. government shutdown on October 1, leading to the compromise. The agency took swift action by disconnecting the affected router just before announcing the breach.