dbcve.org
Secure Email And Web ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20028

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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
Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager; Cisco Secure Email Gateway, formerly Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA); and Cisco Secure Web Appliance, formerly Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA), could allow a remote attacker to conduct a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against a user of the interface. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.

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 · moderate confidence

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco AsyncOS Software affecting Secure Email and Web Manager, Secure Email Gateway (ESA), and Secure Web Appliance (WSA). A remote attacker can inject malicious scripts through the interface to target users.

MitigationApply Cisco-provided patches for AsyncOS Software; validate and sanitize all user inputs in the web management interface until patches are applied.

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
Secure Email And Web ManagerApplication
Affected:= 14.0.0-418= 14.0.1-033= 14.0.1-053= 15.0.0-050= 15.0.0-256
Secure Email GatewayApplication
Affected:= 14.0.0-418= 14.0.1-033= 14.0.1-053= 15.0.0-050= 15.0.0-256
Web Security ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 14.0.0-418= 14.0.1-033= 14.0.1-053= 15.0.0-050= 15.0.0-256

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 the Cisco appliance product
    Access the CLI and run 'show version' or log into the web UI to confirm the appliance type: Cisco Secure Email Gateway (ESA), Cisco Secure Web Appliance (WSA), or Cisco Secure Email And Web Manager
    Affected if The device is not one of these three product families
  2. Check the AsyncOS version
    In the CLI, run 'version' or 'show version' to display the AsyncOS build number. In the web UI, navigate to System Administration > Software Updates > Installed Software
    Affected if The build number does not match 14.0.0-418, 14.0.1-033, 14.0.1-053, 15.0.0-050, or 15.0.0-256
  3. Confirm web-based management interface is active
    Verify that the web UI listener is enabled. In the CLI, run 'listeners' or check Network > Listeners. In the web UI, confirm you can access the management interface over HTTPS/HTTP
    Affected if The web management interface is disabled and not accessible
  4. Verify the interface accepts user input
    Log into the web management interface and identify fields or parameters that accept user input, such as quarantine notifications, filter rule definitions, or reporting labels. These are the potential injection points for XSS
    Affected if No user input fields exist in the web interface (highly unlikely for these appliances)

You are affected if you are running Cisco Secure Email Gateway, Secure Web Appliance, or Secure Email And Web Manager on AsyncOS build 14.0.0-418, 14.0.1-033, 14.0.1-053, 15.0.0-050, or 15.0.0-256, and the web-based management interface is enabled and accessible.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Cisco-provided patches for AsyncOS Software; validate and sanitize all user inputs in the web management interface until patches are applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Later AsyncOS version (15.0.1 or higher, or 16.x) - consult sec.cloudapps.cisco.com for exact fixed release

  1. 1. Verify the current installed version of Cisco AsyncOS Software on the affected device
  2. 2. Access the Cisco Security Advisory at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com for CVE-2023-20028 to obtain the specific fixed release number
  3. 3. Download the fixed AsyncOS version from Cisco's software download center
  4. 4. Plan upgrade during a maintenance window as the web interface will be unavailable during the upgrade process
  5. 5. Back up the current device configuration
  6. 6. Upload and install the fixed AsyncOS version via the device's administration interface
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the new version is installed and the web management interface is accessible
  8. 8. Confirm the XSS vulnerability is remediated by checking the Cisco advisory or release notes
Caveat Upgrading AsyncOS may temporarily disrupt email/web security services; schedule during maintenance window

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

Fix this in Secure Email And Web Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20028 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-20028 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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