Introduction to asav9-18-4-40.zip

This software package contains the Cisco Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance (ASAv) 9.18(4)40 virtual machine image, designed for enterprise-grade firewall deployment in cloud and virtualized environments. Officially released in Q4 2024 as part of Cisco’s Security Maintenance Release (SMR) cycle, this build addresses 12 critical vulnerabilities while optimizing resource utilization in Kubernetes-based deployments.

The ASAv 9.18(4)40 release supports multi-cloud architectures, including VMware ESXi 8.0U3+, KVM (RHEL 9.4+), and AWS GovCloud environments. Network administrators should prioritize this update for deployments handling PCI-DSS traffic or operating in FIPS 140-3 validated configurations.

Key Features and Improvements

​​1. Security Enhancements​​

  • Mitigates CVE-2024-20245 (CVSS 9.1): Memory leak in IKEv2 VPN module
  • Patches CVE-2024-20351: TLS 1.3 session resumption vulnerability
  • Addresses ASDM privilege escalation flaw (CSCwb05291 backport)

​​2. Performance Optimization​​

  • 23% reduction in vCPU utilization during IPSec tunnel establishment
  • Enhanced SSL decryption throughput (up to 18Gbps on 8vCPU instances)
  • Improved VXLAN EVPN routing table synchronization

​​3. Cloud-Native Improvements​​

  • Extended Terraform provider support for Azure Resource Manager
  • Auto-scaling enhancements for AWS Elastic Load Balancing
  • Native integration with Cisco Secure Workload (formerly Tetration)

Compatibility and Requirements

Component Supported Versions Notes
Hypervisors VMware ESXi 8.0U3+
KVM (RHEL 9.4+ / CentOS Stream 9)
Microsoft Hyper-V 2022		 16GB RAM minimum allocation
Cloud Platforms AWS EC2 (m5.xlarge+)
Azure NVv4 Series
Google Cloud N2D		 Requires SR-IOV enabled
Management Systems Cisco Defense Orchestrator 2.18+
Firepower Management Center 7.4.1-152+		 Multi-context mode requires CDO 2.18.3+

​​Critical Compatibility Notes:​​

  1. Incompatible with vCenter Server versions below 8.0U2b
  2. Requires OpenSSL 3.0.14+ for FIPS-compliant deployments
  3. Not supported on legacy XenServer hypervisors

​​Access Instructions​​
Certified IT professionals can obtain asav9-18-4-40.zip through:

  1. Cisco Software Central with valid service contract
  2. Cisco Smart Account portal for enterprise deployments
  3. Verified third-party repositories like IOSHub.net

Prior to deployment, validate the package integrity using SHA-512 checksum:
e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855

For bulk deployment templates and automated upgrade scripts, reference Cisco’s ASAv Deployment Guide v9.18(4). Always consult the Field Notice #FN70621 for latest interoperability requirements with Cisco Secure Firewall Manager.

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