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Security AffairsPierluigi Paganini

CISA Flags Critical Cisco Email Gateway Flaw Exploited in Attacks

Part of the CVE-2026-76461 story · since 14 Sep

Quiet for 2 weekslast report 15 Oct10 articles7 outlets
14 Sep · CISA first1 Oct9 Oct17 OctNowThis article6th of 10
  • Mon 14 Sep, 20:32 UTC. CISA, first report. CISA Warns of Actively Exploited Cisco Email Gateway Flaw. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Tue 15 Sep, 04:41 UTC. SecurityOnline, its first report on the story. Cisco Email Gateway Flaw Exploited to Gain Root Access via Email. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Tue 15 Sep, 05:52 UTC. SecurityWeek, its first report on the story. Cisco Secure Email Gateways Hit by Actively Exploited Root Flaw. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Tue 15 Sep, 13:13 UTC. Security Affairs, its first report on the story. Cisco Secure Email Gateways Hit by Actively Exploited Root Access Zero Day. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Tue 15 Sep, 13:13 UTC. Rapid7, its first report on the story. Cisco Email Gateway Zero Day Let Attackers Gain Root Access Remotely. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Tue 15 Sep, 21:21 UTC. Security Affairs. CISA Flags Critical Cisco Email Gateway Flaw Exploited in Attacks. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV. This article, 6th of 10.
  • Wed 16 Sep, 14:51 UTC. SOCRadar, its first report on the story. Cisco Warns Attackers Are Exploiting Critical Secure Email Gateway Flaw. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Mon 21 Sep, 02:59 UTC. SecurityOnline. Cisco Warns of Actively Exploited Flaws Enabling Root Access. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Wed 14 Oct, 19:26 UTC. The Hacker News, its first report on the story. Cisco Email Gateway Flaw Exploited to Run Commands as Root. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Thu 15 Oct, 07:01 UTC. SecurityWeek. Attackers Exploit Critical Cisco Email Gateway Flaw to Gain Root Access. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added CVE-2026-76461, a critical Cisco Secure Email Gateway vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalogue. Cisco disclosed the zero-day in September 2026 and confirmed that it is being exploited in the wild.

The flaw affects both physical and virtual Cisco Secure Email Gateway appliances, regardless of their configuration. It is caused by insufficient validation in the email-parsing logic. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send a specially crafted email containing malicious SQL statements, potentially executing arbitrary SQL commands and then arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root privileges. Cisco said there is no workaround that addresses the vulnerability.

Cisco advises customers to inspect the `mail_logs` on every device, including each appliance in a cluster, for suspicious SQL statements. Its example detection command searches for `COPY.*TO PROGRAM`; any matching entry may indicate malicious activity. Customers using Secure Email Cloud may not be able to check these indicators themselves, although Cisco said it contacted customers where malicious activity was detected.

Under Binding Operational Directive 22-01, US federal civilian agencies must remediate the flaw by 17 September 2026. CISA also recommends that private organisations review and address the vulnerability where relevant.

How the story developed

All 10 articles
Quiet for 2 weekslast report 15 Oct10 articles7 outlets

10 articles from 7 outlets since 14 Sep. Quiet since 15 Oct. This was the 6th report, 1 day after the first.

Now14 Sep171819202115 OctFirst reportCISA · 14 Sep, 20:32This article6th of 10 · day 1
  • Mon 14 Sep, 20:32 UTC. CISA, first report. CISA Warns of Actively Exploited Cisco Email Gateway Flaw. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Tue 15 Sep, 04:41 UTC. SecurityOnline, its first report on the story. Cisco Email Gateway Flaw Exploited to Gain Root Access via Email. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Tue 15 Sep, 05:52 UTC. SecurityWeek, its first report on the story. Cisco Secure Email Gateways Hit by Actively Exploited Root Flaw. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Tue 15 Sep, 13:13 UTC. Security Affairs, its first report on the story. Cisco Secure Email Gateways Hit by Actively Exploited Root Access Zero Day. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Tue 15 Sep, 13:13 UTC. Rapid7, its first report on the story. Cisco Email Gateway Zero Day Let Attackers Gain Root Access Remotely. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Tue 15 Sep, 21:21 UTC. Security Affairs. CISA Flags Critical Cisco Email Gateway Flaw Exploited in Attacks. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV. This article, 6th of 10.
  • Wed 16 Sep, 14:51 UTC. SOCRadar, its first report on the story. Cisco Warns Attackers Are Exploiting Critical Secure Email Gateway Flaw. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Mon 21 Sep, 02:59 UTC. SecurityOnline. Cisco Warns of Actively Exploited Flaws Enabling Root Access. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Wed 14 Oct, 19:26 UTC. The Hacker News, its first report on the story. Cisco Email Gateway Flaw Exploited to Run Commands as Root. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Thu 15 Oct, 07:01 UTC. SecurityWeek. Attackers Exploit Critical Cisco Email Gateway Flaw to Gain Root Access. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
  • Known exploited CVE
  • No CVE
  • Larger: an outlet’s first report
  • Square: official source
  • Coverage over time
  • Quiet time, folded
Show all 10 articles as a list
  1. Mon 14 SepDay 01
    1. CISA Warns of Actively Exploited Cisco Email Gateway Flaw20:32 · CISA · official · First report · CISA alert · Known exploited CVE
  2. Tue 15 SepDay 15
    1. Cisco Email Gateway Flaw Exploited to Gain Root Access via Email04:41 · SecurityOnline · Known exploited CVE
    2. Cisco Secure Email Gateways Hit by Actively Exploited Root Flaw05:52 · SecurityWeek · Known exploited CVE
    3. CISA Flags Critical Cisco Email Gateway Flaw Exploited in Attacks21:21 · Security Affairs · Known exploited CVE · This article, 6th of 10
    Show 2 more from 15 Sep
    1. Cisco Secure Email Gateways Hit by Actively Exploited Root Access Zero Day13:13 · Security Affairs · Known exploited CVE
    2. Cisco Email Gateway Zero Day Let Attackers Gain Root Access Remotely13:13 · Rapid7 · Known exploited CVE
  3. Wed 16 SepDay 21
    1. Cisco Warns Attackers Are Exploiting Critical Secure Email Gateway Flaw14:51 · SOCRadar · Known exploited CVE

  4. Quiet for 5 days

    Mon 21 SepDay 71
    1. Cisco Warns of Actively Exploited Flaws Enabling Root Access02:59 · SecurityOnline · Picked up again · Known exploited CVE

  5. Quiet for 3 weeks

    Wed 14 OctDay 301
    1. Cisco Email Gateway Flaw Exploited to Run Commands as Root19:26 · The Hacker News · Picked up again · Known exploited CVE
  6. Thu 15 OctDay 311
    1. Attackers Exploit Critical Cisco Email Gateway Flaw to Gain Root Access07:01 · SecurityWeek · Known exploited CVE

Sources

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