cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos: Cisco Email Security Appliance Memory Corruption Denial of Service Vulnerability

Published Jan 9, 2019
·
Updated

A vulnerability in the Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) Decryption and Verification or S/MIME Public Key Harvesting features of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to corrupt system memory. A successful exploit could cause the filtering process to unexpectedly reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition on the device. The vulnerability is due to improper input validation of S/MIME-signed emails. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious S/MIME-signed email through a targeted device. If Decryption and Verification or Public Key Harvesting is configured, the filtering process could crash due to memory corruption and restart, resulting in a DoS condition. The software could then resume processing the same S/MIME-signed email, causing the filtering process to crash and restart again. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a permanent DoS condition. 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-20190109-esa-dos

Credit

This vulnerability was found during the resolution(a Cisco TAC support case)

Affected Software

1 affected component
Cisco AsyncOS Software for ESA Major

Event History

Jan 9, 2019
Advisory Published
via Cisco·04:00 PM

Child vulnerabilities

Contains the following vulnerabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos?

The severity of cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos is classified as a denial of service vulnerability.

2

How do I fix cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos?

To fix cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos, upgrade the Cisco AsyncOS Software for ESA to the latest version that addresses the vulnerability.

3

Who is affected by cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos?

Organizations using Cisco Email Security Appliance with the affected version of AsyncOS Software are vulnerable to cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos.

4

What types of attacks can cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos allow?

cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos allows unauthenticated remote attackers to cause a denial of service on the email security appliance.

5

Is cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos easily exploitable?

Yes, cisco-sa-20190109-esa-dos can be easily exploited by attackers without any authentication.

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203