CVE-2019-1947
highpriority · track · 35EPSS 0.019 · 80 %ileEURUUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-27
A vulnerability in the email message filtering feature of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the CPU utilization to increase to 100 percent, causing a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper handling of email messages that contain large attachments. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious email message through the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a permanent DoS condition due to high CPU utilization. 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 Appliance (ESA)cisco_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 (5)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
- cisco email security appliance= 11.1.0-131nvdUScpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
advisories (1)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- cisco-sa-20200219-esa-dosCisco Email Security Appliance Denial of Service Vulnerability2020-02-19csaf · cisco_csafUS
A vulnerability in the email message filtering feature of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the CPU utilization to increase to 100 percent, causing a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper handling of email messages that contain large attachments. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious email message through the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a permanent DoS condition due to high CPU utilization. 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. This advisory is available at the following link: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20200219-esa-dos ["https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20200219-esa-dos"]
also known as (4)
Other names and identifiers for this entity.
sources
Which sources assert this record, and when.
references (5)
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20200219-esa-doscnnvd
- https://vigilance.fr/vulnerability/Cisco-ESA-infinite-loop-via-Large-Email-Attachments-31638cnnvd
- https://www.auscert.org.au/bulletins/ESB-2020.0619/cnnvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20200219-esa-dosenisa_euvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20200219-esa-dosVendor Advisorynvd
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