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 — 3 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.4EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: 88%CVSS: 9.4Exploit: cisa kev · ssvc active · Metasploit · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed: 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 PROB
88%
EPSS %ILE
100%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

May 24, 2023

Last Modified

October 24, 2025

Advisory Details (3)

Auto-updated Sep 15, 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 49× in last 7d / 225× 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 825 total refreshes for this CVE.

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

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