Remote Command Injection in Barracuda Email Security Gateway Appliance
CVE-2023-2868 is a remote command injection vulnerability in Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) appliances, affecting appliance form factor versions 5.1.3.001 through 9.2.0.006. The flaw is caused by incomplete input validation when the ESG attachment-scanning component processes user-supplied .tar archives. Specifically, filenames contained within a crafted .tar file are not comprehensively sanitized, allowing an attacker to format archive member names so they are passed into Perl's qx operator and interpreted as system commands. Successful exploitation results in remote execution of attacker-controlled commands in the context of the ESG product. Barracuda disclosed that the vulnerability had been actively exploited as a zero-day and that exploitation was associated with unauthorized access, deployment of backdoor malware, and data exfiltration.
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Impact
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Mitigation
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Remediation
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Exploits
1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository contains a proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2023-2868, a command injection vulnerability in Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) appliances. The repository consists of a Ruby script ('poc_cve_2023_2868.rb') and a README file. The exploit works by crafting a malicious tar archive containing a file with a payload that, when processed by the vulnerable ESG, executes a shell command to establish a reverse shell to the attacker's machine using OpenSSL. The script sends the malicious tar file as an email attachment to the target ESG via SMTP. The attacker must specify the target's IP address (RHOST) and have a listener running on their own machine (LHOST:LPORT) to receive the shell. The exploit demonstrates a full attack chain, including payload generation, archive creation, email delivery, and cleanup. The code is operational and can be used to gain remote shell access to vulnerable Barracuda ESG devices.
Affected products & vendors
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Recent activity
19 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A remote command injection / RCE vulnerability in Barracuda Email Security Gateway’s attachment scanning, triggered via crafted .tar attachments, used by UNC4841 to gain and maintain espionage access and deploy custom implants.
A Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) remote command injection vulnerability in the attachment-scanning component, triggered via crafted email attachments (notably .tar archives) to execute arbitrary system commands; used in espionage campaigns linked to UNC4841.
A Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) remote command injection vulnerability in the attachment-scanning component, triggered via crafted email attachments (notably .tar archives), used for long-term espionage and to deploy custom implants.
A critical vulnerability in Barracuda Email Security Gateways (ESG) that was exploited by Chinese espionage group UNC4841 (Salt Typhoon) in 2023 to deploy custom malware and maintain persistent access to high-value networks, including government organizations.
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Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
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Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
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