CVE-2026-102097 in Email Protection Gateway
Summary
by MITRE • 10/01/2026
Kiteworks Email Protection Gateway before version 9.5.0 is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution. Kiteworks Email Protection Gateway allowed an authenticated administrator to import configuration whose contents were not sufficiently validated before being processed. A crafted submission could potentially allow arbitrary commands to be executed on the affected gateway.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/01/2026
The vulnerability identified in Kiteworks Email Protection Gateway prior to version 9.5.0 represents a critical security flaw rooted in insufficient input validation within administrative configuration management functions. This issue specifically affects systems where an authenticated administrator possesses the ability to import or update system configurations. The core technical deficiency lies in the application's failure to rigorously sanitize and validate data structures before they are processed by underlying system components. When an attacker, operating with valid administrative credentials, submits a crafted configuration file containing malicious payloads, the gateway fails to detect these anomalies during the parsing phase. This lack of validation allows arbitrary commands embedded within the configuration data to be executed directly on the host operating system or within the application's runtime environment, effectively bypassing standard security controls designed to restrict command execution privileges.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses a severe risk to organizational infrastructure integrity and confidentiality. Because the exploit requires authentication as an administrator, it typically necessitates that an attacker has already compromised valid administrative credentials through methods such as phishing, credential stuffing, or internal privilege escalation. Once authenticated, the ability to execute arbitrary commands transforms the email gateway from a protective security layer into a potential entry point for deeper network infiltration. An adversary could leverage this remote code execution capability to install backdoors, exfiltrate sensitive data processed by the gateway, pivot to other systems on the local network, or disrupt critical communication services. The impact is compounded by the fact that administrative access often implies broad visibility and control over security policies, making such a compromise particularly damaging to overall defense-in-depth strategies.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) category CWE-94, which describes Improper Control of Generation of Code or Command, specifically highlighting flaws where user input is directly incorporated into code execution without adequate sanitization. It also maps closely to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1059, Command and Scripting Interpreter, as the exploitation involves injecting commands that are interpreted by the system shell or application logic. Furthermore, it relates to CWE-20, Improper Input Validation, underscoring the fundamental failure in verifying the integrity and safety of incoming data streams before processing.
To mitigate this risk, organizations must immediately upgrade their Kiteworks Email Protection Gateway installations to version 9.5.0 or later, where these validation mechanisms have been corrected. In environments where immediate patching is not feasible due to operational constraints, administrators should enforce strict access controls on administrative interfaces, ensuring that only essential personnel have elevated privileges and that multi-factor authentication is enabled for all admin accounts. Additionally, implementing network segmentation can limit the blast radius of a potential compromise by isolating the email gateway from critical internal assets. Regular audits of configuration imports and monitoring for unusual command execution patterns in system logs should also be established to detect any attempted exploitation activities promptly.