Cisco Enterprise Chat and Email: Incorrect Regular Expression
CVE-2025-20139 is a high-severity incorrect regular expression vulnerability in Cisco Enterprise Chat and Email from Cisco, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected Cisco Enterprise Chat and Email versions: 11.5(1); 11.6(1); 11.6(1)_ES2, 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 0.67% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 52% of scored CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Enterprise Chat And Email to 12.6\(1\)es10 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on sec.cloudapps.cisco.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco | Cisco Enterprise Chat and Email | 11.5(1); 11.6(1); 11.6(1)_ES2; 11.6(1)_ES3; 11.6(1)_ES4; 11.6(1)_ES5; 11.6(1)_ES6; 11.6(1)_ES10; and 32 more ranges | Not stated |
| Cisco | Enterprise Chat And Email | before 12.6\(1\)es10 | 12.6\(1\)es10 |
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
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- NoneNo data is disclosed.
- Integrity
- NoneNothing can be modified.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Scored by CNA (cisco.com).
Official description
A vulnerability in chat messaging features of Cisco Enterprise Chat and Email (ECE) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input to chat entry points. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious requests to a messaging chat entry point in the affected application. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the application to stop responding, resulting in a DoS condition. The application may not recover on its own and may need an administrator to manually restart services to recover.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Incorrect Regular Expression
The product specifies a regular expression in a way that causes data to be improperly matched or compared.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Regular expressions can become error prone when defining a complex language even for those experienced in writing grammars. Determine if several smaller regular expressions simplify one large regular expression. Also, subject the regular expression to thorough testing techniques such as equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis, and robustness. After testing and a reasonable confidence level is achieved, a regular expression may not be foolproof. If an exploit is allowed to slip through, then record the exploit and refactor the regular expression.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Enterprise Chat and Email
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Incorrect Regular Expression vulnerabilities
- 9.8 Critical severity
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