CVE-2025-20207 in Secure Email
Summary
by MITRE • 02/05/2025
A vulnerability in Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) polling for Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, Cisco Secure Email Gateway, and Cisco Secure Web Appliance could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to obtain confidential information about the underlying operating system.
This vulnerability exists because the appliances do not protect confidential information at rest in response to SNMP poll requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted SNMP poll request to the affected appliance. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to discover confidential information that should be restricted. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must have the configured SNMP credentials.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/05/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical information disclosure flaw in Cisco's security appliances that undermines the fundamental principle of least privilege and data protection. The vulnerability exists within the Simple Network Management Protocol polling functionality of Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, Cisco Secure Email Gateway, and Cisco Secure Web Appliance products. The flaw stems from inadequate protection mechanisms that fail to properly restrict access to sensitive operating system information during SNMP query responses. This weakness creates an attack surface where authenticated remote adversaries can systematically extract confidential data about the underlying system architecture, software versions, and potentially vulnerable configurations through crafted SNMP polling requests.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a failure in access control enforcement at the network management interface level. When SNMP polling requests are processed by the affected appliances, the system does not adequately validate or restrict the information returned in response to queries that might reveal system internals. This design flaw allows an attacker with valid SNMP credentials to perform reconnaissance activities that would normally be restricted to authorized administrators. The vulnerability specifically affects systems where SNMP is configured with authentication credentials, meaning that attackers must first obtain valid SNMP credentials through other means or exploit additional vulnerabilities to reach this state. The information disclosure can include operating system details, version numbers, configuration parameters, and potentially sensitive system identifiers that could be leveraged in subsequent attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information gathering, as it provides attackers with valuable intelligence for crafting more sophisticated attacks against the affected systems. The disclosed information could enable attackers to identify specific vulnerabilities in the operating system or applications running on the appliances, potentially leading to privilege escalation or system compromise. According to the CWE framework, this vulnerability maps to CWE-200 - "Information Exposure" which specifically addresses the improper restriction of information exposure to unauthorized actors. The attack pattern aligns with ATT&CK technique T1082 - "System Information Discovery" where adversaries gather information about the system environment to inform their attack strategy. Organizations may find that this vulnerability serves as a stepping stone for more advanced persistent threats, as the leaked information can be used to target specific exploits or identify weak points in the overall security posture of the network infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing comprehensive access control measures for SNMP services and restricting information exposure through proper configuration of network management protocols. Organizations should ensure that SNMP credentials are properly secured and that access to SNMP polling interfaces is restricted to authorized personnel only. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to limit access to SNMP ports to trusted management networks only. Additionally, regular security assessments should verify that SNMP services are not exposing unnecessary information and that proper authentication mechanisms are in place. The vulnerability highlights the importance of implementing principle of least privilege for network management protocols and ensuring that systems do not inadvertently expose sensitive information through network services. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual SNMP polling patterns that might indicate reconnaissance activities targeting information disclosure vulnerabilities.