CVE Intelligence
CISA KEV Critical Input validation

CVE-2025-20393 — Cisco Multiple Products Improper Input Validation Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the Spam Quarantine feature of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Secure Email Gateway and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary system commands on an affected device with root privileges. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of HTTP requests by the Spam Quarantine feature. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges.

Published Dec 17, 2025 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: cisco

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

How the score was calculated
  • Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
  • Public exploit/PoC (github)+6
  • EPSS 32.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
  • Technical severity (critical)+10
  • Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Dec 17, 2025
EPSS FIRST
32.39%
ahead of 98% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Cisco
Asyncos and 2 more
CVSS base
10.0
Critical · 3 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
Yes
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

CISA required action CISA

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

US federal deadline: Dec 24, 2025 — passed 295 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Cisco Asyncos, Cisco Cisco Secure Email, Cisco Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager).
  2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
  3. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  4. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  5. EPSS ahead of 98% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  6. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (input validation), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Cisco Asyncos ≥ 15.5 and < 15.5.4-012≥ 16.0 and < 16.0.4-016< 15.0.2-007≥ 15.5 and < 15.5.4-007≥ 16.0 and < 16.0.4-010< 15.0.5-016 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Cisco Cisco Secure Email version 15.5.2-018version 16.0.1-017version 15.5.3-022version 16.0.0-054version 15.0.3-002version 16.0.0-050version 15.5.1-055version 15.5.0-048
and 10 more version 15.0.1-030version 14.3.0-032version 14.2.1-020version 15.0.0-104version 13.5.4-038version 13.0.5-007version 14.2.0-620version 13.0.0-392version 13.5.1-277version 14.0.0-698
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Cisco Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager version 12.8.1-021version 13.8.1-108version 14.2.0-224version 14.3.0-120version 15.0.0-334version 15.5.1-024version 15.5.1-029version 15.5.2-005
and 18 more version 16.0.0-195version 15.5.3-017version 16.0.1-010version 15.0.1-035version 16.0.2-088version 14.2.0-212version 14.2.0-203version 13.6.1-201version 14.1.0-227version 12.8.1-002version 14.0.0-404version 13.8.1-074version 13.8.1-068version 13.8.1-052version 13.0.0-277version 13.0.0-249version 13.6.2-078version 13.6.2-023
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
10.0 CVSS 3.1 Critical 3.9 6.0 psirt@cisco.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
10.0 CVSS 3.1 Critical — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
10.0 CVSS 3.1 Critical — — cisco via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: psirt@cisco.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-20 · Improper Input Validation

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

Listed
Dec 17, 2025
Federal deadline
Dec 24, 2025
passed 295 day(s) ago
Ransomware use
Unknown

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates

Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.

Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 32.39%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Hunt retroactively in logs from before Dec 17, 2025 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · cisco/cisco secure email, cisco/cisco secure email and web manager
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Affected products added · cisco/asyncos
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 10.0
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Added to CISA KEV (detected)
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Dec 17, 2025 · cisco
  • Added to CISA KEV catalog
    Dec 16, 2025 · CISA

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

4 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Cisco
every CVE for this vendor
2025-12
what else CISA listed that month
CWE-20
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • Critical CVE-2026-76519 Cisco Secure Email Gateway Relative Path Traversal Vulnerability KEV 1d
  • Critical CVE-2026-76461 Cisco Secure Email Gateway SQL Injection Vulnerability KEV Sep 14, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2025-20393 is "Cisco Multiple Products Improper Input Validation Vulnerability", rated Critical. It affects Asyncos (Cisco); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 10.0 describes technical severity. EPSS 32.39% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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