CVE-2018-15453
highpriority · track · 35EPSS 0.023 · 83 %ileEURUUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-27
A vulnerability in the Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) Decryption and Verification or S/MIME Public Key Harvesting features of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to corrupt system memory. A successful exploit could cause the filtering process to unexpectedly reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition on the device. The vulnerability is due to improper input validation of S/MIME-signed emails. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious S/MIME-signed email through a targeted device. If Decryption and Verification or Public Key Harvesting is configured, the filtering process could crash due to memory corruption and restart, resulting in a DoS condition. The software could then resume processing the same S/MIME-signed email, causing the filtering process to crash and restart again. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a permanent DoS condition. This vulnerability may require manual intervention to recover the ESA.
remediations
Vendor fix, mitigation, or workaround guidance, as published by each source.
A vendor fix is available.
- FixedCisco Email Security Virtual Appliance cisco_csaf
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability.
https://software.cisco.com - FixedCisco Secure Emailcisco_csaf
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability.
https://software.cisco.com
cvss
Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.
base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode
ssvc
A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.
weaknesses
The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.
affected products (6)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
- cisco email security appliance firmware= 11.0.1-401nvdUScpe:2.3:o:cisco:email_security_appliance_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cisco email security appliance firmware= 11.1.0-131nvdUScpe:2.3:o:cisco:email_security_appliance_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
advisories (1)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dosCisco Email Security Appliance Memory Corruption Denial of Service Vulnerability2019-01-09csaf · cisco_csafUS
A vulnerability in the Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) Decryption and Verification or S/MIME Public Key Harvesting features of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to corrupt system memory. A successful exploit could cause the filtering process to unexpectedly reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition on the device. The vulnerability is due to improper input validation of S/MIME-signed emails. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious S/MIME-signed email through a targeted device. If Decryption and Verification or Public Key Harvesting is configured, the filtering process could crash due to memory corruption and restart, resulting in a DoS condition. The software could then resume processing the same S/MIME-signed email, causing the filtering process to crash and restart again. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a permanent DoS condition. This vulnerability may require manual intervention to recover the ESA. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
also known as (4)
Other names and identifiers for this entity.
sources
Which sources assert this record, and when.
references (6)
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20190109-esa-doscnnvd
- https://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106511cnnvd
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106511enisa_euvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dosenisa_euvd
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106511Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entrynvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dosVendor Advisorynvd
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