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CVE-2022-20960

7.5 · HIGH

A vulnerability in Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device.

Published Nov 4, 2022CWE-400EPSS 0.85%

Overview

CVE-2022-20960 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on November 4, 2022 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

A vulnerability in Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device.

This vulnerability is due to improper handling of certain TLS connections that are processed by an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by establishing a large number of concurrent TLS connections to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to drop new TLS email messages that come from the associated email servers. Exploitation of this vulnerability does not cause the affected device to unexpectedly reload. The device will recover autonomously within a few hours of when the attack is halted or mitigated.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References

Refsec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-esa-dos-gdghHmbVRefsec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-esa-dos-gdghHmbV

How CyberStrike helps

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-20960?

CVE-2022-20960 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on November 4, 2022 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2022-20960?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2022-20960?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2022-20960?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2022-20960 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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