Cisco Secure Email: Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
CVE-2023-20009 is a high-severity unrestricted upload of file with dangerous type vulnerability in Cisco Secure Email from Cisco, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.2 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with administrator privileges, without any action from a user. Affected Cisco Secure Email versions: 11.0.3-238; 11.1.0-069; 11.1.0-131, and others listed below. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 2.23% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 83% of scored CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Email Security Appliance to 12.5.3-041 or 13.0.5-007 or 13.5.4-038 or 14.2.1-020, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Secure Email And Web Manager to 12.8.1-021 or 13.8.1-108 or 14.2.0-224 or 14.3.0-120, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Read the advisory on sec.cloudapps.cisco.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco | Cisco Secure Email | 11.0.3-238; 11.1.0-069; 11.1.0-131; 11.1.0-128; 12.0.0-419; 12.1.0-071; 12.1.0-087; 12.1.0-089; and 5 more ranges | Not stated |
| Cisco | Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager | 11.0.0-115; 11.0.1-161; 11.5.1-105; 12.0.0-452; 12.0.1-011; 12.5.0-636; 12.5.0-658; 12.5.0-678; and 10 more ranges | Not stated |
| Cisco | Email Security Appliance | before 12.5.3-041; 13.0.0 up to, but not including, 13.0.5-007; 13.5.0 up to, but not including, 13.5.4-038; 14.0.0 up to, but not including, 14.2.1-020; 14.3.0 up to, but not including, 14.3.0-032 | 12.5.3-041, 13.0.5-007, 13.5.4-038, 14.2.1-020, 14.3.0-032 |
| Cisco | Secure Email And Web Manager | before 12.8.1-021; 13.8.0 up to, but not including, 13.8.1-108; 14.0.0 up to, but not including, 14.2.0-224; 14.3.0 up to, but not including, 14.3.0-120 | 12.8.1-021, 13.8.1-108, 14.2.0-224, 14.3.0-120 |
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
- HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 6.5 | Medium | CNA (cisco.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.2 | High | NVD |
Official description
A vulnerability in the Web UI and administrative CLI of the Cisco Secure Email Gateway (ESA) and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager (SMA) could allow an authenticated remote attacker and or authenticated local attacker to escalate their privilege level and gain root access. The attacker has to have a valid user credential with at least a [[privilege of operator - validate actual name]]. The vulnerability is due to the processing of a specially crafted SNMP configuration file. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to the targeted device and uploading a specially crafted SNMP configuration file that when uploaded could allow for the execution of commands as root. An exploit could allow the attacker to gain root access on the device.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
The product allows the upload or transfer of dangerous file types that are automatically processed within its environment.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Generate a new, unique filename for an uploaded file instead of using the user-supplied filename, so that no external input is used at all.
- When the set of acceptable objects, such as filenames or URLs, is limited or known, create a mapping from a set of fixed input values (such as numeric IDs) to the actual filenames or URLs, and reject all other inputs.
- Consider storing the uploaded files outside of the web document root entirely. Then, use other mechanisms to deliver the files dynamically.
More Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerabilities (CWE-434)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Secure Email
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
Cisco Secure Email Gateway SQL Injection Exploited
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
Recent Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerabilities
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
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