dbcve.org
Secure Email And Web ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2023-20120

MEDIUM · 6.1 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 →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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

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

MitigationApply the appropriate Cisco security patches or software updates for AsyncOS when available. Until patched, limit access to the web management interface to trusted networks only.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 AsyncOS product
    Log into the appliance CLI and run 'show version' or access the web management interface to confirm the product name (Secure Email Gateway, Secure Web Appliance, or Secure Email and Web Manager)
    Affected if The product is one of these three Cisco AsyncOS-based appliances
  2. Verify the web-based management interface is enabled
    In the CLI, run 'show interface' or check the web interface access settings. Alternatively, check if TCP ports 443 or 80 are listening on the appliance management IP
    Affected if The web-based management interface is accessible (HTTP/HTTPS listener is active)
  3. Check the AsyncOS version
    Run 'version' or 'show version' in the CLI, or check the version displayed in the web interface footer. Compare the full build number (for example, 14.0.0-418) against the affected builds: 14.0.0-418, 14.0.1-033, 14.0.1-053, 15.0.0-050, 15.0.0-256
    Affected if The installed build matches exactly one of these five versions: 14.0.0-418, 14.0.1-033, 14.0.1-053, 15.0.0-050, or 15.0.0-256

A user is affected if they run Secure Email Gateway, Secure Web Appliance, or Secure Email and Web Manager on any of the five specific AsyncOS builds listed, with the web management interface enabled.

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 the appropriate Cisco security patches or software updates for AsyncOS when available. Until patched, limit access to the web management interface to trusted networks only.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Obtain the fixed AsyncOS release from Cisco's official security advisory for CVE-2023-20120 - specific version numbers vary by product and are available at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com

  1. 1. Identify the exact product model (Secure Email and Web Manager, Secure Email Gateway, or Web Security Appliance) currently in use.
  2. 2. Access the web-based management interface and navigate to the System Administration > Software Update or similar section.
  3. 3. Check the current AsyncOS version installed to confirm it matches one of the affected versions: 14.0.0-418, 14.0.1-033, 14.0.1-053, or 15.0.0-050.
  4. 4. Consult the Cisco Security Advisory (sec.cloudapps.cisco.com) for this CVE to obtain the specific fixed AsyncOS release for your product.
  5. 5. Download the recommended fixed AsyncOS version from Cisco's download center.
  6. 6. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade may require a brief downtime.
  7. 7. Back up the current configuration before proceeding with the upgrade.
  8. 8. Apply the AsyncOS software upgrade following Cisco's standard upgrade procedures for your appliance model.
Caveat Standard AsyncOS upgrades typically retain configuration; however, review Cisco release notes for any configuration migration requirements or deprecated features between your current and target version

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2023-20120 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
  • 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