Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA): Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
CVE-2022-20664 is a high-severity exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor vulnerability in Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) from Cisco, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.7 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.05% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 65% of scored CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Email Security Appliance to 14.0.2-020 or a later version.
- Update Secure Email And Web Manager to 13.6.2-090 or 14.1.0-227, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Read the advisory on tools.cisco.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco | Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Cisco | Email Security Appliance | before 14.0.2-020 | 14.0.2-020 |
| Cisco | Secure Email And Web Manager | before 13.6.2-090; 14.1 up to, but not including, 14.1.0-227 | 13.6.2-090, 14.1.0-227 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- NoneNothing can be modified.
- Availability
- NoneAvailability is not affected.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.7 | High | CNA (cisco.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.7 | High | NVD |
| CVSS 2.0 | 3.5 | Low | NVD |
Official description
A vulnerability in the web management interface of Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, formerly Cisco Security Management Appliance (SMA), and Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to retrieve sensitive information from a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) external authentication server connected to an affected device. This vulnerability is due to a lack of proper input sanitization while querying the external authentication server. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted query through an external authentication web page. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain access to sensitive information, including user credentials from the external authentication server. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need valid operator-level (or higher) credentials.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Compartmentalize the system to have safe areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area. Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.
More Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerabilities (CWE-200)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA)
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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