CVE-2024-20401
CRITICALEPSS 81th pctlDescription
A vulnerability in the content scanning and message filtering features of Cisco Secure Email Gateway could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to improper handling of email attachments when file analysis and content filters are enabled. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending an email that contains a crafted attachment through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to replace any file on the underlying file system. The attacker could then perform any of the following actions: add users with root privileges, modify the device configuration, execute arbitrary code, or cause a permanent denial of service (DoS) condition on the affected device. Note: Manual intervention is required to recover from the DoS condition. Customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to help recover a device in this condition.
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Elevated risk: more likely to be exploited than 81% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-36 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-13159 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2018-20250 | High | 7.8 | 96% | KEV + Ransom | - |
| CVE-2024-48248 | High | 8.6 | 94% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2024-13160 | Critical | 9.8 | 91% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2024-13161 | Critical | 9.8 | 90% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2023-3765 | Critical | 10.0 | 68% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2024-20401?
Upgrade secure email gateway to 15.5.1-055 or later.
Is CVE-2024-20401 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2024-20401 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 2.3% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 81% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2024-20401?
CVE-2024-20401 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8, rated critical. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2024-20401 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for secure email gateway (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2025-07-31.