CVE-2009-2631: Multiple clientless SSL VPN products that run in web browsers, including Stonesoft StoneGate; Cisco ASA; SonicWALL E-Class SSL VPN and SonicWALL SSL VPN; SafeNe

Multiple clientless SSL VPN products that run in web browsers, including Stonesoft StoneGate; Cisco ASA; SonicWALL E-Class SSL VPN and SonicWALL SSL VPN; SafeNe

Multiple clientless SSL VPN products that run in web browsers, including Stonesoft StoneGate; Cisco ASA; SonicWALL E-Class SSL VPN and SonicWALL SSL VPN; SafeNet SecureWire Access Gateway; Juniper Networks Secure Access; Nortel CallPilot; Citrix Access Gateway; and other products, when running in configurations that do not restrict access to the same domain as the VPN, retrieve the content of remote URLs from one domain and rewrite them so they originate from the VPN's domain, which violates the same origin policy and allows remote attackers to conduct cross-site scripting attacks, read cookies that originated from other domains, access the Web VPN session to gain access to internal resources, perform key logging, and conduct other attacks. NOTE: it could be argued that this is a fundamental design problem in any clientless VPN solution, as opposed to a commonly-introduced error that can be fixed in separate implementations. Therefore a single CVE has been assigned for all products that have this design

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by cret@cert.org

What it means for a small business

Adaptive Security Appliance Web SSL VPN is network equipment or remote-access software: the box between your office and the internet. These are a favorite target because breaking one opens the whole office.

If an IT provider set it up, ask them to confirm the firmware version and the date it was updated. If nobody looks after it, that's the bigger problem.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 4.8%, top 8% of all CVEs. That’s above average: worth scheduling this week. Scored October 28, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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