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CVE-2023-2868

Barracuda Networks Email Security Gateway (ESG) Appliance•CRITICAL · CVSS 9.8• In the wild In CISA KEV

What is CVE-2023-2868?

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.

CVSS9.8 NVD 3.1

SeverityCRITICAL

Exploitation In the wild In CISA KEV

EPSS87% · P100

Triage statusActive Exploit

ActionPatch immediately

CVSS vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWECWE-20, CWE-77

NVD published2023-05-24

NVD last modified2026-06-17

Timeline

2023-05-24Published to the U.S. National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2023-05-26Added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog
2023-06-16CISA federal remediation deadline (BOD 22-01)
2026-06-17NVD record last updated
2026-11-04First covered in a defend.network daily briefing

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Barracuda Networks ESG Appliance Improper Input Validation Vulnerability

Added to KEV2023-05-26

Federal patch deadline2023-06-16

Known ransomware useUnknown

Affected product

Barracuda Networks Email Security Gateway (ESG) Appliance

NVD also lists CPE entries for: Barracuda Email Security Gateway 300 Firmware, Barracuda Email Security Gateway 300, Barracuda Email Security Gateway 400 Firmware, Barracuda Email Security Gateway 400, Barracuda Email Security Gateway 600 Firmware

Remediation Steps

Apply the vendor security update for Barracuda Networks Email Security Gateway (ESG) Appliance as a priority.
Restrict network exposure of the affected service to trusted sources until patched.
Review logs and detections for indicators of exploitation.
Confirm fixed versions against the official vendor advisory before deploying.

References

Referenced in our briefings & reports

Vulnerability Priority Report – Week 1 of November 2026 (November 2 – 8)
Barracuda chained RCE, cPGuard backdoor supply chain, LLMjacking cloud fraud surge (2026-11-04)

Related vulnerabilities

CVE-2023-7102 – Barracuda Email Security Gateway (same product)
CVE-2026-99999 (same weakness: CWE-20)
CVE-2026-96951 – Microsoft Windows (same weakness: CWE-77)
CVE-2026-105134 – Ahsay AhsayCBS (same weakness: CWE-77)
CVE-2026-88771 – Citrix NetScaler (same weakness: CWE-20)
CVE-2026-93952 – Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator (same weakness: CWE-20)

Browse all tracked CVEs in the defend.network CVE database →

🤖 This CVE page is generated by defend.network from NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS, and our verified daily briefings. Severity and exploitation data come from official sources; always verify remediation steps against the official vendor advisory before acting in production.