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Email Security ApplianceApplication · Cisco

CVE-2022-20664

HIGH · 7.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-06-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.6.2-090 / 14.0.2-020 or later.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
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.

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 vulnerability in the web management interface of Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager and Cisco Email Security Appliance allows an authenticated attacker with operator-level or higher credentials to send crafted queries through the external authentication web page. Due to lack of proper input sanitization while querying the LDAP external authentication server, an attacker can retrieve sensitive information including user credentials stored on the LDAP server.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Cisco for this vulnerability. Until patched, limit access to the web management interface to only trusted administrators and monitor for anomalous authentication queries.

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:< 14.0.2-020
Secure Email And Web ManagerApplication
Affected:< 13.6.2-090>= 14.1, < 14.1.0-227

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 product and version
    Log into the Cisco Email Security Appliance CLI and run the `version` command, or access the web management interface and navigate to System Administration > Software Upgrade to view the installed version.
    Affected if The installed version is Cisco Email Security Appliance < 14.0.2-020, or Cisco Secure Email And Web Manager < 13.6.2-090, or >= 14.1.0 and < 14.1.0-227.
  2. Verify LDAP external authentication is enabled
    In the web management interface, go to System Administration > LDAP > LDAP Servers to check if any LDAP external authentication profiles are configured and enabled. Alternatively, use the CLI command `ldapconfig` to list configured LDAP servers.
    Affected if External LDAP authentication servers are configured and active on the device.
  3. Confirm web management interface accessibility
    Verify that the web management interface (GUI) is accessible from the network. Check the interface bindings in System Administration > Network > IP Interfaces to determine which interfaces the GUI listens on.
    Affected if The web management interface is reachable from untrusted networks.
  4. Review operator-level and administrator accounts
    Check for accounts with operator-level or higher privileges in the web management interface under Users > Local User Settings or by running `userlist` in the CLI.
    Affected if Multiple operator-level or administrator accounts exist, increasing the attack surface.

You are affected if your Cisco Email Security Appliance or Secure Email and Web Manager is running a version within the affected ranges AND external LDAP authentication is enabled, especially if the web management interface is exposed to untrusted networks.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 13.6.2-090 / 14.0.2-020 / 14.1.0-227 or later
Fixed in 13.6.2-09014.0.2-02014.1.0-227
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Cisco for this vulnerability. Until patched, limit access to the web management interface to only trusted administrators and monitor for anomalous authentication queries.

Recommended fix High confidence

ESA: 14.0.2-020 or later (14.x train); Secure Email And Web Manager: 13.6.2-090 or later (13.x train) OR 14.1.0-227 or later (14.x train)

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) or Secure Email And Web Manager (formerly SMA) via the web management interface (System Administration > Software Updates) or CLI (show version)
  2. 2. For Email Security Appliance (ESA) users: Upgrade to version 14.0.2-020 or later (recommended: latest 14.x release)
  3. 3. For Secure Email And Web Manager users on version 13.x: Upgrade to version 13.6.2-090 or later
  4. 4. For Secure Email And Web Manager users on version 14.1.x: Upgrade to version 14.1.0-227 or later (recommended: latest 14.x release)
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify the fix by confirming the installed version via 'show version' command or System Administration > Software Updates
  6. 6. Test external LDAP authentication to ensure functionality is retained
  7. 7. Review system logs for any suspicious authentication queries as a precautionary measure
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes between versions; some older feature configurations may require adjustment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Email Security Appliance Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
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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-2022-20664 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