CVE-2022-20798 [Critical] | Authentication Bypass in Email Security Appliance

A vulnerability in the external authentication functionality of Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, formerly known as Cisco Security Management Appliance (SMA), and Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and log in to the web management interface of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper authentication checks when an affected device uses Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for external authentication. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by entering a specific input on the login page of the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain unauthorized access to the web-based management interface of the affected device.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-01-04	0.76%	1.31%	+0.55%
2	2026-01-02	0.56%	0.76%	+0.20%
3	2026-01-01	—	0.56%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-01-04

0.76%

1.31%

+0.55%

2026-01-02

0.56%

0.76%

+0.20%

2026-01-01

—

0.56%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
9.8	3.1	CRITICAL	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	3.9	5.9	[email protected]
9.8	3.1	CRITICAL	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	3.9	5.9	[email protected]
6.8	2.0	MEDIUM	`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:M) Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:P) Partial confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:P) Partial integrity impact. Availability impact (A:P) Partial availability impact.	8.6	6.4	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

9.8

3.1

CRITICAL

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

3.9

5.9

[email protected]

9.8

3.1

CRITICAL

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

3.9

5.9

[email protected]

6.8

2.0

MEDIUM

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M): Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P): Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P): Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P): Partial availability impact.

8.6

6.4

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-20798

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
cisco	email_security_appliance	>= 14.0, < 14.0.1-033	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance::::::::
cisco	email_security_appliance	7.1.5	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:email_security_appliance:7.1.5:::::::*
cisco	secure_email_and_web_manager	>= 13.0, < 13.0.0-277	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_email_and_web_manager::::::::
cisco	secure_email_and_web_manager	>= 13.6, < 13.6.2-090	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_email_and_web_manager::::::::
cisco	secure_email_and_web_manager	>= 13.8, < 13.8.1-090	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_email_and_web_manager::::::::
cisco	secure_email_and_web_manager	>= 14.0, < 14.0.0-418	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_email_and_web_manager::::::::
cisco	secure_email_and_web_manager	>= 14.1, < 14.1.0-250	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:secure_email_and_web_manager::::::::

References for CVE-2022-20798

URL	Tags
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-sma-esa-auth-bypass-66kEcxQD	Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2022-20798 | Cisco Email Security Appliance and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager External Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-20798

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-20798

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-20798

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-20798

References for CVE-2022-20798