CVE-2021-34741
mediumpriority · track · 30EPSS 0.013 · 70 %ileEURUUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-27
A vulnerability in the email scanning algorithm of Cisco AsyncOS software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack against an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of incoming emails. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted email through Cisco ESA. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust all the available CPU resources on an affected device for an extended period of time, preventing other emails from being processed and resulting in a DoS condition.
remediations
Vendor fix, mitigation, or workaround guidance, as published by each source.
A vendor fix is available.
- 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⚠ sources disagree · medium–high · 5–7.5
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.
advisories (1)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- cisco-sa-esa-dos-JOm9ETfOCisco Email Security Appliance Denial of Service Vulnerability2021-11-03csaf · cisco_csafUS
A vulnerability in the email scanning algorithm of Cisco AsyncOS software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack against an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of incoming emails. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted email through Cisco ESA. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust all the available CPU resources on an affected device for an extended period of time, preventing other emails from being processed and resulting in a DoS condition. 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 (7)
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-34741cnnvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-esa-dos-JOm9ETfOcnnvd
- https://vigilance.fr/vulnerability/Cisco-Email-Security-Appliance-overload-via-Email-36815cnnvd
- https://www.auscert.org.au/bulletins/ESB-2021.3673cnnvd
- https://www.cybersecurity-help.cz/vdb/SB2021110412cnnvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-esa-dos-JOm9ETfOenisa_euvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-esa-dos-JOm9ETfOVendor Advisorynvd
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