A vulnerability in the authentication for the general purpose APIs implementation of Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA), Cisco Content Security Management Appliance (SMA), and Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to access general system information and certain configuration information from an affected device. The vulnerability exists because a secure authentication token is not required when authenticating to the general purpose API. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request for information to the general purpose API on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain system and configuration information from the affected device, resulting in an unauthorized information disclosure.
This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.3, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts limited data confidentiality, for affected systems. Impacting 3 products from cisco, from cisco, from cisco organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2021, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2021-01-20T20:15:13.050
2024-11-21T05:43:39.177
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 5.3 (MEDIUM)
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
10.0
2.9
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | cisco | content_security_management_appliance | 12.5.0 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | email_security_appliance | 13.0.0 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | web_security_appliance | 11.8.0 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For cisco's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.