CVE-2023-20009Network attack vector

Root command execution via malformed SNMP configuration upload

Published Feb 16, 2023 · Updated Aug 2, 2024

Improper input validation in Cisco Secure Email and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager allows remote authenticated users to execute commands as root. The web UI and administrative CLI accept a specially crafted SNMP configuration file without properly validating its contents. Operator-level credentials or higher are required; exploitation through the web UI is remote, while CLI exploitation requires local access.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper input validation in Cisco Secure Email and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager allows remote authenticated users to execute commands as root. The web UI and administrative CLI accept a specially crafted SNMP configuration file without properly validating its contents. Operator-level credentials or higher are required; exploitation through the web UI is remote, while CLI exploitation requires local access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-20009
Published
Feb 16, 2023
Updated
Aug 2, 2024
Vendor
ClamAV
Product
Cisco Secure Email
Classifications
CWE-434, CWE-20, T1068
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 16, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 2, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=11.0.3-238
  2. Affected versionversion=11.1.0-069
  3. Affected versionversion=11.1.0-128
  4. Affected versionversion=11.1.0-131
  5. Affected versionversion=12.0.0-419
  6. Affected versionversion=12.1.0-071
  7. Affected versionversion=12.1.0-087
  8. Affected versionversion=12.1.0-089
  9. Affected versionversion=12.5.0-066
  10. Affected versionversion=13.0.0-392
  11. Affected versionversion=13.5.1-277
  12. Affected versionversion=14.0.0-698
  13. Affected versionversion=14.2.0-620

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

ClamAV · Cisco Secure Emailversion=11.0.3-238; version=11.1.0-069; version=11.1.0-128; version=11.1.0-131; version=12.0.0-419; version=12.1.0-071; version=12.1.0-087; version=12.1.0-089; version=12.5.0-066; version=13.0.0-392; version=13.5.1-277; version=14.0.0-698; version=14.2.0-620
ClamAV · Cisco Secure Email and Web Managerversion=11.0.0-115; version=11.0.1-161; version=11.5.1-105; version=12.0.0-452; version=12.0.1-011; version=12.5.0-636; version=12.5.0-658; version=12.5.0-670; version=12.5.0-678; version=12.8.1-002; version=13.0.0-277; version=13.6.2-078; version=13.8.1-068; version=13.8.1-074; version=14.0.0-404; version=14.1.0-223; version=14.1.0-227; version=14.2.0-212

Published CVSS scores

7.2NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.5Cisco Systems, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-434Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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