CVE-2023-2868

CRITICALNVD 9.49.4—
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.4 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-05-26), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 9.4 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 4 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.4
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS: 87%CVSS: 9.4Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

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.

CVSS v3
9.4
EG Score
9.4(high)
EG Risk
97(Act)
EG Risk 97/100SSVC: Act

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity94% × 45%
Exploitation100% × 40%
Automatability100% × 15%
Action: Fix now — active exploitation, automatable, high impact.
EPSS
99.7%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

May 24, 2023

Last Modified

October 24, 2025

Advisory Details (3)

Auto-updated Jun 1, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Patch available. Sources: cisa.
cisa Patch Available🔴 Active Exploitation

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA. Listed in CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-2868
generic Patch Available

Barracuda Email Security Gateway Appliance (ESG) Vulnerability | Barracuda Networks

https://www.barracuda.com/company/legal/esg-vulnerability
generic

Barracuda Networks Status - Barracuda identified a vulnerability (CVE-2023-2868) in our Email Security Gateway appliance (ESG) on May 19, 2023.

https://status.barracuda.com/incidents/34kx82j5n4q9

Weakness Classification(2)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 51× in last 7d / 212× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 401 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-07-23 02:20 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-07-22 23:26 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-07-22 23:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-07-22 23:08 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-07-22 19:40 UTCCISA KEV update
  6. 2026-07-22 19:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-07-22 15:39 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-07-22 15:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-07-22 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-07-22 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-22 11:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-07-22 07:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-07-22 03:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-07-22 00:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-07-21 20:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-07-21 16:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-07-21 14:37 UTCCISA KEV update
  18. 2026-07-21 12:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-07-21 08:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-07-21 04:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-07-21 00:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-07-20 20:51 UTCEG score recompute
  23. 2026-07-20 20:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-07-20 17:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-07-20 16:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-07-20 13:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-07-20 09:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-07-20 05:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-07-20 01:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-07-19 21:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-07-19 17:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-07-19 13:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-07-19 09:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-07-19 06:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-07-19 02:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-07-18 22:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-07-18 18:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-07-18 14:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-07-18 10:39 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-07-18 10:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-07-18 10:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-18 10:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-07-18 06:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-07-18 02:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-07-17 22:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-07-17 19:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-07-17 15:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-07-17 11:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-07-17 07:24 UTCEG score recompute
  25. 2026-07-17 07:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  26. 2026-07-17 03:31 UTCGHSA enrichment
  27. 2026-07-16 23:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  28. 2026-07-16 19:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-07-16 17:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  30. 2026-07-16 15:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  31. 2026-07-16 12:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  32. 2026-07-16 08:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-07-16 04:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  34. 2026-07-16 00:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  35. 2026-07-15 20:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  36. 2026-07-15 16:49 UTCCISA KEV update
  37. 2026-07-15 16:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  38. 2026-07-15 15:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  39. 2026-07-15 12:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  40. 2026-07-15 08:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-07-15 04:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  42. 2026-07-15 01:58 UTCEPSS rescore
  43. 2026-07-15 01:58 UTCEPSS rescore
  44. 2026-07-15 01:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  45. 2026-07-14 21:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  46. 2026-07-14 18:05 UTCCISA KEV update
  47. 2026-07-14 17:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  48. 2026-07-14 13:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-07-14 09:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  50. 2026-07-14 05:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  51. 2026-07-14 01:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  52. 2026-07-13 21:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  53. 2026-07-13 17:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  54. 2026-07-13 17:07 UTCCISA KEV update
  55. 2026-07-13 14:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  56. 2026-07-13 10:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  57. 2026-07-13 06:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  58. 2026-07-13 06:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  59. 2026-07-13 06:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  60. 2026-07-13 02:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  61. 2026-07-12 22:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  62. 2026-07-12 18:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  63. 2026-07-12 14:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  64. 2026-07-12 10:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  65. 2026-07-12 06:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  66. 2026-07-12 05:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  67. 2026-07-12 03:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  68. 2026-07-11 23:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  69. 2026-07-11 19:19 UTCGHSA enrichment
  70. 2026-07-11 15:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  71. 2026-07-11 11:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  72. 2026-07-11 07:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  73. 2026-07-11 03:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  74. 2026-07-10 23:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  75. 2026-07-10 20:01 UTCGHSA enrichment

Publicly available exploits

(2 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (1 GitHub PoC). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCcfielding-r7/poc-cve-2023-2868
    First seen Jun 20, 2023
    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/linux/smtp/barracuda_esg_tarfile_rce✓ verified
    First seen May 23, 2023

    Barracuda ESG TAR Filename Command Injection

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2023-2868?
CVE-2023-2868 is a critical vulnerability published on May 24, 2023. 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…
When was CVE-2023-2868 disclosed?
CVE-2023-2868 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on May 24, 2023, with the most recent update on October 24, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2023-2868 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2023-2868 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on May 26, 2023, affecting Barracuda Networks Email Security Gateway (ESG) Appliance. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-2868?
CVE-2023-2868 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.4 (NVD).
Which products are affected by CVE-2023-2868?
CVE-2023-2868 affects Barracuda Networks Email Security Gateway (ESG) Appliance. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2023-2868?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2023-2868, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2023-2868

Explore →

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2023-2868?

EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.

Start Free Scan →Browse All CVEs