CVE-2010-0145 in IronPort Encryption Appliance
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the embedded HTTPS server on the Cisco IronPort Encryption Appliance 6.2.x before 6.2.9.1 and 6.5.x before 6.5.2, and the IronPort PostX MAP before 6.2.9.1, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors, aka IronPort Bug 65923.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/30/2026
The Cisco IronPort Encryption Appliance represents a critical component in enterprise email security infrastructure, providing encryption services for email traffic and serving as a gateway for secure communications within organizational networks. These appliances are specifically designed to handle sensitive email data and provide cryptographic protection for business communications. The vulnerability identified in CVE-2010-0145 affects the embedded HTTPS server implementation within these devices, creating a potential attack surface that could allow remote code execution. This flaw exists in multiple versions of the IronPort Encryption Appliance software, specifically impacting releases 6.2.x before 6.2.9.1 and 6.5.x before 6.5.2, as well as the IronPort PostX MAP before 6.2.9.1, indicating a widespread issue across different product lines and software versions.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from unspecified vectors within the embedded HTTPS server implementation that could be exploited to execute arbitrary code remotely. This type of vulnerability typically indicates a flaw in the server's handling of incoming network requests or its processing of secure communication protocols. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple potential pathways exist for exploitation, including but not limited to buffer overflows, improper input validation, or memory corruption issues within the HTTPS server component. Such vulnerabilities often arise from inadequate sanitization of network inputs or flaws in the server's protocol handling mechanisms that allow attackers to craft malicious requests that trigger unintended behavior within the appliance's operating system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for organizations relying on IronPort appliances for email security. Remote code execution capabilities allow attackers to gain full control over affected appliances, potentially enabling them to intercept, modify, or redirect email traffic flowing through the network. This compromise could lead to data breaches, man-in-the-middle attacks, or the complete subversion of email security policies. Organizations may experience disruption to their email services, potential exposure of sensitive communications, and the need for emergency patching operations that could impact network availability. The vulnerability affects the core security infrastructure of enterprises, making it particularly dangerous as it could undermine the entire email security posture of affected organizations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of affected systems, as Cisco has released updates to address this issue. Organizations should prioritize updating their IronPort Encryption Appliance software to versions 6.2.9.1 or later for 6.2.x releases, and 6.5.2 or later for 6.5.x releases. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of these appliances to untrusted networks, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-119, which addresses "Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer," and potentially CWE-787, "Out-of-bounds Write," as these are common causes of remote code execution vulnerabilities in embedded server implementations. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1190 "Exploit Public-Facing Application" and T1059 "Command and Scripting Interpreter," as attackers would exploit the vulnerable HTTPS server to execute arbitrary commands on the target system. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures specifically addressing compromised email security appliances.