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Email Security ApplianceApplication · Cisco

CVE-2022-20798

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-06-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.0.0-277 / 13.6.2-090 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A vulnerability in the external authentication functionality of Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, formerly known as Cisco Security Management Appliance (SMA), and Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and log in to the web management interface of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper authentication checks when an affected device uses Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for external authentication. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by entering a specific input on the login page of the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain unauthorized access to the web-based management interface of the affected device.

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 LDAP external authentication module of Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager (SMA) and Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication by entering specific input on the web login page, granting unauthorized access to the device's management interface.

MitigationDisable LDAP external authentication until the vendor patch is applied; review authentication logs for unauthorized access attempts and monitor for indicators of compromise.

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, < 14.0.1-033= 7.1.5
Secure Email And Web ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.0.0-277>= 13.6, < 13.6.2-090>= 13.8, < 13.8.1-090>= 14.0, < 14.0.0-418>= 14.1, < 14.1.0-250

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 model and current firmware version
    Access the web interface or CLI and navigate to the System Administration > Firmware Upgrade or use 'version' command in CLI to retrieve the exact firmware version
    Affected if Version matches >= 14.0 but < 14.0.1-033 for ESA; or version is 7.1.5 for ESA; or version falls within SMA affected ranges (>= 13.0 < 13.0.0-277, >= 13.6 < 13.6.2-090, >= 13.8 < 13.8.1-090, >= 14.0 < 14.0.0-418, >= 14.1 < 14.1.0-250)
  2. Verify LDAP external authentication is enabled
    In the web interface, go to System Administration > Users and Groups > External Authentication, or use CLI command 'externalauth config' to check if LDAP authentication is enabled
    Affected if LDAP external authentication is configured and enabled on the device
  3. Review authentication logs for suspicious successful logins
    Check System Administration > Log Subscriptions > Authentication logs or use CLI command 'grep -i "authentication" /var/log/msg*' to identify successful logins from unexpected IP addresses or at unusual times
    Affected if Successful authentication events exist that cannot be attributed to legitimate administrators, especially failed attempts followed by successful ones without proper credentials
  4. Check for unauthorized administrator accounts
    In the web interface, go to System Administration > Users and Groups > Users, or use CLI command 'userconfig' to list all administrator accounts
    Affected if New or unrecognized administrator accounts have been created without your knowledge
  5. Inspect LDAP server configuration for tampering
    In the web interface, go to System Administration > Users and Groups > External Authentication > LDAP, or use CLI command 'ldapconfig' to review LDAP server settings
    Affected if LDAP configuration has been modified to point to an unauthorized server or bind credentials have been changed

You are affected if your ESA or SMA firmware version falls within the affected ranges AND LDAP external authentication is currently enabled, regardless of whether you see evidence of exploitation.

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 13.0.0-277 / 13.6.2-090 / 13.8.1-090 or later
Fixed in 13.0.0-27713.6.2-09013.8.1-090
Interim mitigation

Disable LDAP external authentication until the vendor patch is applied; review authentication logs for unauthorized access attempts and monitor for indicators of compromise.

Recommended fix High confidence

For ESA: upgrade to 14.0.1-033 or later; For Secure Email And Web Manager: upgrade to 13.0.0-277, 13.6.2-090, 13.8.1-090, or 14.0.0-418 or later (whichever is the nearest major/minor release above the current version)

  1. 1. Identify the current version of the Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) or Secure Email And Web Manager by accessing the web management interface and checking System Administration > System Upgrade or using the CLI command 'version'
  2. 2. Determine if LDAP external authentication is enabled by navigating to Network > Authentication in the web interface or using the CLI command 'externalauth list'
  3. 3. Verify the current version falls within the vulnerable ranges: ESA versions 14.0 through 14.0.1-032 or version 7.1.5; Secure Email And Web Manager versions 13.0 through 13.0.0-276, 13.6 through 13.6.2-089, 13.8 through 13.8.1-089, or 14.0 through 14.0.0-417
  4. 4. Back up the current device configuration using the web interface (System Administration > Configuration File) or CLI command 'configuration'
  5. 5. Download the appropriate fixed release from Cisco (for ESA: 14.0.1-033 or later; for Secure Email And Web Manager: 13.0.0-277, 13.6.2-090, 13.8.1-090, or 14.0.0-418 or later)
  6. 6. Upload the upgrade file via System Administration > System Upgrade in the web interface or use the CLI 'upgrade' command
  7. 7. After upgrade completion, verify the new version is installed and confirm LDAP authentication still functions correctly
  8. 8. If immediate upgrade is not possible, consider disabling LDAP external authentication and using local authentication as a temporary mitigation until the upgrade can be performed
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply - ensure configuration backup before proceeding; some older browser versions may not be supported post-upgrade

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,968.

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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-2022-20798 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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