CVE-2022-20798: Cisco Email Security Appliance and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager External Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 1.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2022-06-15 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-287

Description

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.

Affected products

Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA): from 14.0 before 14.0.1-033; 7.1.5 — fixed in 14.0.1-033
Cisco Secure Email And Web Manager: from 13.0 before 13.0.0-277; from 13.6 before 13.6.2-090; from 13.8 before 13.8.1-090; from 14.0 before 14.0.0-418; from 14.1 before 14.1.0-250 — fixed in 13.0.0-277, 13.6.2-090, 13.8.1-090, 14.0.0-418, 14.1.0-250

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) 14.0.1-033; Cisco Secure Email And Web Manager 13.0.0-277, 13.6.2-090, 13.8.1-090, 14.0.0-418. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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