CVE-2023-2868
Remote Code injection in Barracuda Email Security Gateway
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
Description
A remote command injection vulnerability exists in the Barracuda Email Security Gateway (appliance form factor only) product effecting versions 5.1.3.001-9.2.0.006. The vulnerability arises out of a failure to comprehensively sanitize the processing of .tar file (tape archives). The vulnerability stems from incomplete input validation of a user-supplied .tar file as it pertains to the names of the files contained within the archive. As a consequence, a remote attacker can specifically format these file names in a particular manner that will result in remotely executing a system command through Perl's qx operator with the privileges of the Email Security Gateway product. This issue was fixed as part of BNSF-36456 patch. This patch was automatically applied to all customer appliances.
Official description from the CVE record, published by Google. Copyright © 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. See /security/cve/legal for the CVE license. View the record on cve.org
Key data
CVSS 3.1 Critical 9.4
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
Attack vector: Network
The vulnerable component can be reached over a network, possibly from the Internet.
Attack complexity: Low
No special conditions are needed. The attack can be repeated at will.
Privileges required: None
No account or privileges are needed.
User interaction: None
No action from any user is needed.
Scope: Unchanged
The impact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality impact: High
Serious or total effect on the secrecy of data.
Integrity impact: High
Serious or total effect on the trustworthiness of data.
Availability impact: Low
Limited effect on availability.
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | Network | The vulnerable component can be reached over a network, possibly from the Internet. |
| Attack complexity | Low | No special conditions are needed. The attack can be repeated at will. |
| Privileges required | None | No account or privileges are needed. |
| User interaction | None | No action from any user is needed. |
| Scope | Unchanged | The impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality impact | High | Serious or total effect on the secrecy of data. |
| Integrity impact | High | Serious or total effect on the trustworthiness of data. |
| Availability impact | Low | Limited effect on availability. |
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EPSS
- Score
- 0.86841 (86.8% probability)
- Percentile
- 99.7%
- Scores of
- Nov 10, 2026
- Model
- v2026.06.15
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
- Name in the catalog
- Barracuda Networks ESG Appliance Improper Input Validation Vulnerability
- Added to the catalog
- May 26, 2023
- Federal due date
- Jun 16, 2023
CISA assessment as of Jan 16, 2025
- Exploitation
- Recorded by CISA as active
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- total
Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-20Improper Input Validation
Affected products
Barracuda Email Security Gateway
- affected: 5.1.3.001 up to before 9.2.0.006
References
Timeline
- ID reserved
- Record published
- Added to CISA KEV
- Record last updated
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Data from the CVE Program (MITRE), CISA KEV and FIRST EPSS. CVSS is owned by FIRST and used by permission. Not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE, CISA or FIRST. Data as of Nov 10, 2026, 19:25 UTC. Sources and licenses