dbcve.org
AsyncosOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2022-20867

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.2.0 / 14.2.1 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 web-based management interface of the of Cisco Email Security Appliance and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct SQL injection attacks as root on an affected system. The attacker must have the credentials of a high-privileged user account. This vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-submitted parameters. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to the application and sending malicious requests to an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain data or modify data that is stored in the underlying database of the affected system.

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

Authenticated SQL injection vulnerability in Cisco Email Security Appliance and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager web-based management interface. Due to improper validation of user-submitted parameters, an attacker with high-privileged credentials can inject malicious SQL queries that execute with root privileges on the underlying database, allowing unauthorized data extraction or modification.

MitigationApply Cisco security patches/updates for this vulnerability. Restrict access to the management interface to trusted networks and follow least-privilege principles for user accounts.

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
AsyncosOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 14.2.1>= 12.0, < 14.2.0

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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. Verify web-based management interface is accessible
    Confirm the Cisco Email Security Appliance or Secure Email and Web Manager web management interface is reachable on your network. This is the attack surface for the SQL injection.
    Affected if The web management interface is exposed and accessible to the attacker.
  2. Identify the AsyncOS version
    Log into the appliance CLI or web interface and locate the AsyncOS version number. In the CLI, this is typically shown in the system overview or by running 'version' command.
    Affected if The installed AsyncOS version cannot be determined or is not visible.
  3. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    Check if your AsyncOS version falls within: 12.0 <= version < 14.2.0 OR 13.0 <= version < 14.2.1. Any version in these ranges is affected by the vulnerability.
    Affected if Your AsyncOS version is 12.x below 14.2.0, or 13.x below 14.2.1.
  4. Determine if high-privileged management accounts exist
    Review user accounts in the web management interface under the Users or Mail Users section. Identify accounts with Administrator or high-privilege roles.
    Affected if High-privileged accounts with administrative access exist in the system.

If the web management interface is exposed AND your AsyncOS version is 12.x < 14.2.0 or 13.x < 14.2.1 AND high-privileged accounts are present, you are affected by this SQL injection vulnerability.

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 14.2.0 / 14.2.1 or later
Fixed in 14.2.014.2.1
Interim mitigation

Apply Cisco security patches/updates for this vulnerability. Restrict access to the management interface to trusted networks and follow least-privilege principles for user accounts.

Recommended fix High confidence

AsyncOS 14.2.1 (for 13.x branch) or AsyncOS 14.2.0 (for 12.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current AsyncOS version by navigating to the appliance's web interface or using the CLI command: version
  2. 2. For AsyncOS 12.x versions: Plan upgrade to AsyncOS 14.2.0 or later
  3. 3. For AsyncOS 13.x versions: Plan upgrade to AsyncOS 14.2.1 or later
  4. 4. Back up the current configuration using the saveconfig CLI command before upgrading
  5. 5. Download the appropriate AsyncOS upgrade image from Cisco (requires valid service contract)
  6. 6. Upload the upgrade file via the web interface (System Administration > Update Appliance) or via CLI using the upgrade command
  7. 7. Run the upgrade and confirm the new version after reboot using the version command
  8. 8. Verify the web-based management interface is accessible and functioning normally
Caveat Major version upgrade may include feature changes; review Cisco release notes for behavioral differences before upgrading. Requires valid Cisco service contract to download updates.

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

Fix this in Asyncos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-20867 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