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Email Security Appliance CVE-2023-20075

MEDIUM
Command Injection (CWE-77)
2023-03-01 psirt@cisco.com
6.7
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Command injection prevention
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 6.7 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with access to the system could inject arbitrary commands into system command execution.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Secure Email Gateway could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Use parameterized APIs, avoid shell execution, validate input with strict allowlists.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Command Injection (CWE-77), which allows attackers to inject arbitrary commands into system command execution. Vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Secure Email Gateway could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands. These vulnerability is due to improper input validation in the CLI. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting operating system commands into a legitimate command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to escape the restricted command prompt and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. To successfully exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need valid Administrator credentials. Affected products include: Cisco Email Security Appliance.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 6.7 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

Vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Secure Email Gateway could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands. These vulnerability is due to improper input validation in the CLI. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting operating system commands into a legitimate command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to escape the restricted command prompt and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. To successfully exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need valid Administrator credentials.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 72% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

34
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +34
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2014-2879 MEDIUM POC
4.3 Apr 17

Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Dell SonicWALL Email Security 7.4.5 and earlier allow remote auth

CVE-2022-20798 CRITICAL
9.8 Jun 15

A vulnerability in the external authentication functionality of Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, formerly known as Ci

CVE-2019-7489 CRITICAL
9.8 Dec 23

A vulnerability in SonicWall Email Security appliance allow an unauthenticated user to perform remote code execution. Ra

CVE-2019-7488 CRITICAL
9.8 Dec 23

Weak default password cause vulnerability in SonicWall Email Security appliance which leads to attacker gain access to a

CVE-2015-6321 HIGH
7.8 Nov 06

Cisco AsyncOS before 8.5.7-042, 9.x before 9.1.0-032, 9.1.x before 9.1.1-023, and 9.5.x and 9.6.x before 9.6.0-042 on Em

CVE-2015-6291 HIGH
7.8 Nov 06

Cisco AsyncOS before 8.5.7-043, 9.x before 9.1.1-023, and 9.5.x and 9.6.x before 9.6.0-046 on Email Security Appliance (

CVE-2016-1405 HIGH
7.5 Jun 08

libclamav in ClamAV (aka Clam AntiVirus), as used in Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) on Cisco Email Security Appliance

CVE-2016-6360 HIGH
7.5 Oct 28

A vulnerability in Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) for Cisco Email Security Appliances (ESA) and Web Security Applianc

CVE-2016-6358 HIGH
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A vulnerability in local FTP to the Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker

CVE-2022-20664 HIGH
7.7 Jun 15

A vulnerability in the web management interface of Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, formerly Cisco Security Managemen

CVE-2016-6356 HIGH
7.5 Oct 28

A vulnerability in the email message filtering feature of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliances cou

CVE-2016-1486 HIGH
7.5 Oct 28

A vulnerability in the email attachment scanning functionality of the Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) feature of Cisco

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