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Email Security ApplianceApplication · Cisco

CVE-2016-1405

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-06-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
libclamav in ClamAV (aka Clam AntiVirus), as used in Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) on Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) devices before 9.7.0-125 and Web Security Appliance (WSA) devices before 9.0.1-135 and 9.1.x before 9.1.1-041, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (AMP process restart) via a crafted document, aka Bug IDs CSCuv78533 and CSCuw60503.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A denial of service vulnerability exists in libclamav (ClamAV) as used by Cisco's Advanced Malware Protection feature on Email Security Appliance (ESA) and Web Security Appliance (WSA) devices. Remote attackers can cause the AMP process to restart by sending a specially crafted document that triggers a flaw in the ClamAV library, resulting in service disruption.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco ESA devices to version 9.7.0-125 or later, and WSA devices to version 9.0.1-135 or 9.1.1-041 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, consider filtering or blocking potentially malicious document attachments at the network perimeter as a compensating control.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Email Security ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 9.6.0-042
Web Security ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 8.8.0-085= 9.1.0-070= 9.5.0-284
ClamavApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify device type
    Determine if the system is a Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA), Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA), or a standalone ClamAV installation. Check the product model or hostname documentation.
    Affected if The device is a Cisco ESA, WSA, or runs ClamAV standalone.
  2. Check Cisco ESA version
    Log into the ESA CLI and run the command 'version' or access the web interface under System Administration > Device Management to view the installed version.
    Affected if The ESA version is 9.6.0-042.
  3. Check Cisco WSA version
    Log into the WSA CLI and run thecommand 'version' or access the web interface under System Administration > Device Management to view the installed version.
    Affected if The WSA version is 8.8.0-085, 9.1.0-070, or 9.5.0-284.
  4. Verify AMP feature status on ESA/WSA
    On the Cisco appliance, check if the Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) feature is enabled. In the web interface, navigate to Security Services > AMP or use the CLI command 'ampconfig' to view AMP status.
    Affected if AMP is enabled and the device version falls within the affected ranges.
  5. Check standalone ClamAV version
    Run 'clamscan --version' or 'clamd --version' on the system to determine the installed ClamAV version.
    Affected if Any version of standalone ClamAV is installed and in use.

A system is affected if it is a Cisco ESA version 9.6.0-042, a Cisco WSA version 8.8.0-085/9.1.0-070/9.5.0-284 with AMP enabled, or any standalone ClamAV installation, and the AMP feature processes incoming documents.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Cisco ESA devices to version 9.7.0-125 or later, and WSA devices to version 9.0.1-135 or 9.1.1-041 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, consider filtering or blocking potentially malicious document attachments at the network perimeter as a compensating control.

Fix this in Email Security Appliance Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-1405 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data