Introduction to asav9-18-4-34.vhdx Software

The ​​asav9-18-4-34.vhdx​​ is a virtual hard disk image containing Cisco’s Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance (ASAv) version 9.18(4)34, specifically engineered for Microsoft Hyper-V environments. This release introduces hardware-accelerated cryptography for AMD EPYC 9004-series hosts and expands support for Azure Stack HCI deployments. The package includes preconfigured templates for automated deployment through Windows Admin Center 2.3+.

As part of Cisco’s extended maintenance cycle, this build resolves 12 CVEs including ​​CVE-2025-2910​​ (CVSS 9.1) related to IKEv2 fragmentation vulnerabilities. The software maintains backward compatibility with ASAv 9.16(x) configurations while implementing mandatory TLS 1.3 encryption for management plane communications.

​​Compatibility​​:

  • ​​Hypervisors​​: Hyper-V 2022 (Build 20348.2342+), Azure Stack HCI 22H2
  • ​​ASAv Models​​: ASAv50/100/300 (Scalable vCPU/RAM profiles)
  • ​​Minimum Resources​​: 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB storage

Key Features and Improvements

1. Security Enhancements

  • Implements post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms for IPsec VPNs using NIST-selected CRYSTALS-Kyber
  • Adds certificate transparency logging for TLS 1.3 connections
  • Patches memory exhaustion vulnerability in WebVPN portal (CVE-2025-2883)

2. Performance Optimizations

  • 45% faster TLS handshake processing through AES-GCM hardware acceleration
  • NUMA-aware vCPU allocation reduces packet processing latency by 32%
  • Dynamic memory ballooning support (4GB-64GB adjustable range)

3. Cloud Integration

  • Native integration with Azure Arc for centralized policy management
  • Supports Hyper-V Replica for disaster recovery configurations
  • Automated health checks via Windows Performance Counters API

Compatibility and Requirements

​​Category​​ ​​Specifications​​
Host Platform Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Edition (Build 20348.2342+)
Virtual Switch Hyper-V Virtual Switch 10.0+ with SR-IOV capabilities
Storage Configuration Requires VHDX format on ReFS/NTFS volumes with 4KB allocation unit size
Unsupported Features VMware vSphere integration, QEMU/KVM virtualization, ARM64 architectures

Administrators must disable Hyper-V Shielded VM features before deployment. This build removes compatibility with legacy Generation 1 VMs, requiring all new deployments to use Generation 2 virtual machines.

Obtaining the Virtual Appliance

To download ​​asav9-18-4-34.vhdx​​:

  1. Visit ​​Cisco ASAv Hyper-V Download Center​​
  2. Select “ASAv 9.18(4)34 for Hyper-V” from the virtualization catalog
  3. Choose between Standard (4.2GB) or FIPS 140-3 Compliant (4.5GB) image variants
  4. Accept Cisco’s End User License Agreement (EULA)
  5. Initiate download via HTTPS/SFTP protocols

Enterprise customers with Smart Licensing must register virtual appliance UUIDs through Cisco Smart Software Manager within 14 days of deployment. For air-gapped environments, offline license activation tokens can be requested through Cisco’s Secure Device Portal.

This Hyper-V optimized build enables organizations to implement zero-trust security models across hybrid cloud infrastructures. By leveraging Windows-native virtualization technologies, network teams achieve seamless integration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud while maintaining military-grade threat prevention capabilities.

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