What it is
CVE-2023-2868 is an unauthenticated Remote Code injection in Barracuda Email Security Gateway. A remote command injection vulnerability exists in the Barracuda Email Security Gateway (appliance form factor only)...
Vulnerability report
Exploited in the wild
Confirmed confidence
In CISA KEV
CVE-2023-2868
Remote Code injection in Barracuda Email Security Gateway
Barracuda / Barracuda Email Security Gateway · affected before 9.2.0.006
- Severity
- CVSS 9.4 · Critical
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Exploit status
- Exploited in the wild
- EPSS
- 87.4%
- First observed
- —
- Last observed
- —
Decision summary
What security teams need to know first
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
Is it exploited?
Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.
Who is affected?
Barracuda / Barracuda Email Security Gateway affected before 9.2.0.006.
What should we do?
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Overview
Remote Code injection in Barracuda Email Security Gateway
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.
Vendor
Product
Affected
Status
Barracuda
Barracuda Email Security Gateway
Before 9.2.0.006
Affected
- Published
- 24 May 2023
- Exploitation Reported
- 26 May 2023
- Attack vector
- Remote
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
Tags
nessus_scanner
cisa
edge
CVE References
- CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-2868
- barracuda.com/company/legal/esg-vulnerability barracuda.com · CVE Record https://www.barracuda.com/company/legal/esg-vulnerability
- status.barracuda.com/incidents/34kx82j5n4q9 status.barracuda.com · CVE Record https://status.barracuda.com/incidents/34kx82j5n4q9
Exploitation evidence
Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
Exploited in the wild
CISA
Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.
Known exploited vulnerability sources
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2023-05-26 00:00 UTC |
Detection
Operational artifacts and observed signals
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Observed signals
- Request targets
- 0
- User-Agents
- 0
Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.
Scanner coverage
Nessus template detected 02 Jun 2025.
View Nessus template (opens in new tab)Virtual patch status
No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →Scanner Artifacts
Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.
| Scanner | Reference | Detected |
|---|---|---|
| Nessus | https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/177587 | 02 Jun 2025 |
Risk and context
Severity, weaknesses, and research context
CVSS v3.1
9.4
Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
EPSS
87.4%
Weaknesses
Timeline
From disclosure to observed exploitation
-
Nessus plugin available
Scanner coverage available
-
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Pro API
Automate this intelligence
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
- Evidence confidence and provenance
- First-party sensor telemetry
- PoC and scanner references
- Affected versions and enrichment
- Automation-ready JSON delivery
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2023-2868
Free JSON includes basic KEV fields{
"cve_id": "CVE-2023-2868",
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 9.4,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": 0.87449,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}Early warning alerts
Get alerts on high-impact exploitation
Receive curator-selected alerts when exploitation activity warrants attention. Each alert includes the evidence and context needed to decide what requires attention now.