# CVE-2023-20075: Command injection in Cisco Secure Email

> Authenticated administrators can inject OS commands into the CLI to escape restricted prompts and execute arbitrary code on the underlying system.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Feb 2023
- **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vwv2-hg2h-447m

## What is CVE-2023-20075?

CVE-2023-20075 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Email Security Appliance, published on 16 Feb 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Secure Email Gateway could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands.

 These vulnerability is due to improper input validation in the CLI. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting operating system commands into a legitimate command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to escape the restricted command prompt and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. To successfully exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need valid Administrator credentials.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command), CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-20075?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Email Security Appliance.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-20075?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-20075 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-20075 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20075 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Cisco Email Security Appliance: Local Privilege Escalation and Shell Escape (github_poc): https://github.com/ly1g3/cisco-CVE-2023-20075

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Email Security Appliance

- [CVE-2022-20798](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20798/): Cisco Email Security Appliance and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager External Authentication Bypass Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2015-6291](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-6291/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-20664](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20664/): Cisco Email Security Appliance and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager Information Disclosure Vulnerability (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2022-20960](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20960/): Denial of service in Cisco Secure Email (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2018-0419](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0419/): Security feature bypass in Email Security Appliance (ESA) (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-20075 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-20075 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco Email Security Appliance, published on 16 Feb 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-20075 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Email Security Appliance. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20075/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20075/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-20075
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20075
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-20075

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20075/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.