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CVE Record

CVE-2019-1905: Cisco Email Security Appliance GZIP Content Filter Bypass Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the GZIP decompression engine of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass configured content filters on the device. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of GZIP-formatted files. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious file inside a crafted GZIP-compressed file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass configured content filters that would normally drop the email.

MediumCVSS 5.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysis

Security readout for executives and security teams

This flaw could let a remote, unauthenticated sender get an email attachment past Cisco ESA content filters by wrapping it in a crafted GZIP file. The main business risk is loss of an email security control: messages that should be dropped may reach users or downstream systems. Exposure is limited to organizations running Cisco Email Security Appliance with AsyncOS Software version 12.0 and relying on configured content filters to drop matching email content. Treat as a moderate email-security control failure. Remediate during normal security patch cycles, faster if ESA is a primary control for malware, data-loss, or compliance filtering. Mitigation focus: Identify all Cisco ESA appliances and their AsyncOS versions.; Review Cisco's advisory for fixed-release or workaround guidance.; Prioritize remediation where ESA drops high-risk attachments or regulated content..

Prepared

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2019-1905 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.8 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
5.8CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N3.91.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.8Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2019-1905Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
CiscoCisco Email Security Appliance (ESA)12.0Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-20 · source CWE mapping

Improper Input Validation

Improper Input Validation represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.