Cisco Email Security Appliance Shortened URL Denial of Service Vulnerability
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-400.
Summary
A vulnerability in the email message scanning feature of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a temporary denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to inadequate parsing mechanisms for specific email body components. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious email containing a high number of shortened URLs through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to consume processing resources, causing a DoS condition on an affected device. To successfully exploit this vulnerability, certain conditions beyond the control of the attacker must occur.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco | Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) VendorCisco Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:cloud_email_security:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 12.5.1-037 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 12.5.1-037 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:cloud_email_security:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 13.0.0-375 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
| cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 13.0.0-375 | Vulnerable | Cisco |
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:cloud_email_security:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 12.5.1-037 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 12.5.1-037 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:cloud_email_security:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 13.0.0-375 Vulnerable ·Cisco
- cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 13.0.0-375 Vulnerable ·Cisco
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-3132
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-xhcj-87mg-4cx4
References
More Cisco Cloud Email Security vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-02726 Cisco ESA, Cisco WSA, and Cisco SMA GUI Denial of Service Vulnerability CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
Sources
- CVE-2020-3132 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-3132 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-xhcj-87mg-4cx4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences