Cisco Security Advisory
Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, Secure Email Gateway, and Secure Web Appliance Vulnerabilities

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N/E:X/RL:X/RC:X
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Multiple vulnerabilities in Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, Cisco Secure Email Gateway, and Cisco Secure Web Appliance could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands locally or remotely.
For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
Cisco has released software updates that address these vulnerabilities. There are no workarounds that address these vulnerabilities.
This advisory is available at the following link:
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-esa-sma-wsa-multi-yKUJhS34
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Vulnerable Products
At the time of publication, CVE-2025-20184 affected both virtual and hardware appliances of the following Cisco products:
- Secure Email Gateway
- Secure Web Appliance
At the time of publication, CVE-2025-20185 affected both virtual and hardware appliances of the following Cisco products:
- Secure Email and Web Manager
- Secure Email Gateway
- Secure Web Appliance
For information about which Cisco software releases were vulnerable at the time of publication, see the Fixed Software section of this advisory. See the Details section in the bug ID(s) at the top of this advisory for the most complete and current information.
Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable
Only products listed in the Vulnerable Products section of this advisory are known to be affected by these vulnerabilities.
Cisco has confirmed that CVE-2025-20184 does not affect Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager.
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The vulnerabilities are not dependent on one another. Exploitation of one of the vulnerabilities is not required to exploit the other vulnerability. In addition, a software release that is affected by one of the vulnerabilities may not be affected by the other vulnerability.
Details about the vulnerabilities are as follows:
CVE-2024-20184: Cisco Secure Email Gateway and Cisco Secure Web Appliance Command Injection Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Secure Email Gateway and Cisco Secure Web Appliance could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform command injection attacks against an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials.
This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of XML configuration files by an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted XML configuration file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject commands to the underlying operating system with root privileges.
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
Bug ID(s): CSCwk70559, CSCwk70576, CSCwk98506
CVE ID: CVE-2024-20184
Security Impact Rating (SIR): Medium
CVSS Base Score: 6.5
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:NCVE-2024-20185: Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, Cisco Secure Email Gateway, and Cisco Secure Web Appliance Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the implementation of the remote access functionality of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, Cisco Secure Email Gateway, and Cisco Secure Web Appliance could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges to root. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid administrative credentials.
This vulnerability is due to an architectural flaw in the password generation algorithm for the remote access functionality. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by generating a temporary password for the service account. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root and access the underlying operating system.
Note: The Security Impact Rating (SIR) for this vulnerability is Medium due to the unrestricted scope of information that is accessible to an attacker.
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
Bug ID(s): CSCwk70590, CSCwk70547, CSCwk70574
CVE ID: CVE-2024-20185
Security Impact Rating (SIR): Medium
CVSS Base Score: 3.1
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
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There are no workarounds that address these vulnerabilities.
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When considering software upgrades, customers are advised to regularly consult the advisories for Cisco products, which are available from the Cisco Security Advisories page, to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution.
In all cases, customers should ensure that the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and confirm that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or their contracted maintenance providers.
Fixed Releases
At the time of publication, the release information in the following tables was accurate. See the Details section in the bug ID(s) at the top of this advisory for the most complete and current information.
The left column lists Cisco software releases, and the center and right columns indicate whether a release was affected by the vulnerabilities that are described in this advisory and which release included the fix for these vulnerabilities.
Secure Email and Web Manager
Cisco AsyncOS Software Release First Fixed Release for CVE-2025-20184 First Fixed Release for CVE-2025-20185 15.0 and earlier Not vulnerable. Migrate to a fixed release. 15.5 Not vulnerable. 15.5.3-017 16.0 Not vulnerable. 16.0.1-010 Secure Email Gateway
Cisco AsyncOS Software Release First Fixed Release for CVE-2025-20184 First Fixed Release for CVE-2025-20185 15.0 and earlier Migrate to a fixed release. Migrate to a fixed release. 15.5 Migrate to a fixed release. 15.5.3-024 (Feb 2025) 16.0 16.0.0-050 16.0.1-019 (Feb 2025) Secure Web Appliance
Cisco AsyncOS Software Release First Fixed Release for CVE-2025-20184 First Fixed Release for CVE-2025-20185 15.1 and earlier Migrate to a fixed release. Migrate to a fixed release. 15.2 15.2.2-009 15.2.2-009 In most cases, the software can be upgraded over the network by using the System Upgrade options in the web-based management interface of the appliance. To upgrade a device by using the web-based management interface, do the following:
- Choose System Administration > System Upgrade.
- Click Upgrade Options.
- Click Download and Install.
- Choose a release to upgrade to.
- In the Upgrade Preparation area, choose the appropriate options.
- Click Proceed to begin the upgrade. A progress bar displays the status of the upgrade.
After the upgrade is complete, the device reboots.
Cisco Secure Email Cloud includes Cisco Secure Email Gateway and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager devices as part of the service solution. Cisco provides regular maintenance of the products included in this solution. Customers can also request a software upgrade by contacting the Cisco TAC.
The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) validates only the affected and fixed release information that is documented in this advisory.
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The Cisco PSIRT is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerabilities that are described in this advisory.
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Cisco would like to thank Exodus Intelligence for reporting these vulnerabilities.
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To learn about Cisco security vulnerability disclosure policies and publications, see the Security Vulnerability Policy. This document also contains instructions for obtaining fixed software and receiving security vulnerability information from Cisco.
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Version Description Section Status Date 1.1 Updated the fixed release table for Cisco Secure Email Gateway. Fixed Releases Final 2025-FEB-07 1.0 Initial public release. - Final 2025-FEB-05
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