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CVE-2023-2868

CRITICAL 9.4 KNOWN EXPLOITED PoC CATALOGUED ALL-YEARS

Published 2023-05-24 · Last modified 2025-10-21 · Google · NVD: Analyzed

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.

ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

Confirmed exploited in the wild — in CISA KEV since 2023-05-26. Patch or mitigate now.

Exploitation likelihood

86.8%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 100th percentile

● In CISA KEV (2023-05-26)● Catalogued PoC◆ SSVC: exploitation active, automatable yes

Impact if exploited

9.4CVSS 3.1 · CRITICAL · CNA

  • ConfidentialityHigh
  • IntegrityHigh
  • AvailabilityLow

What an attacker needs

  • ✓Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
  • ✓Privileges: No account or privileges required
  • ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
  • ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable

✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it

Proof of concept

Public PoC or exploit resources are catalogued below.

Listed by the named source; Vulnpedia has not tested these resources.

PoC data: JSON

Resource commands

curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2023-2868/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).

Search for new PoCs

Search GitHub now — results may be empty or unverified.

Tracked sources are checked weekly for the full archive, including PoCs published after the original disclosure. A later release appears after a tracked source lists it and a refresh succeeds.

Data snapshot:

Affected

Vendors Barracuda

Products Barracuda Email Security Gateway Email Security Gateway 300 Firmware Email Security Gateway 300 Email Security Gateway 400 Firmware Email Security Gateway 400 Email Security Gateway 600 Firmware Email Security Gateway 600 Email Security Gateway 800 Firmware Email Security Gateway 800 Email Security Gateway 900 Firmware Email Security Gateway 900

Weakness (CWE)

  • CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
  • CWE-77: Command injection

CVSS vector

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

References and research data (JSON)

Unverified PoC candidates

Catalogue matches for further research. These repositories have not been validated as working exploits.

3 candidates

Additional exploitation reports

Source-specific reports, separate from CISA KEV. Repeated observations from one source are not independent confirmations.

26 more source reports

Known Affected Software Configurations

VendorProductVersion range
BarracudaEmail Security Gateway 300 Firmware≥ 5.1.3.001 and ≤ 9.2.0.006
BarracudaEmail Security Gateway 400 Firmware≥ 5.1.3.001 and ≤ 9.2.0.006
BarracudaEmail Security Gateway 600 Firmware≥ 5.1.3.001 and ≤ 9.2.0.006
BarracudaEmail Security Gateway 800 Firmware≥ 5.1.3.001 and ≤ 9.2.0.006
BarracudaEmail Security Gateway 900 Firmware≥ 5.1.3.001 and ≤ 9.2.0.006

All CVSS metrics

  • CRITICAL 9.4 v3.1 · CNA Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
  • CRITICAL 9.4 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
  • CRITICAL 9.8 v3.1 · NVD Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

Patches & mitigations

Advisories

Technical & other

Sources: NVD · CVE.org · All sources and attribution · EPSS