CVE-2022-37042

Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) 8.8.15 and 9.0 has mboximport functionality that receives a ZIP archive and extracts files from it. By bypassing authentication (i.e., not having an authtoken), an attacker can upload arbitrary files to the system, leading to directory traversal and remote code execution. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2022-27925.

CVSS: 9.8Criticalscored by CISA
Exploited in the wild: Yes, in CISA KEV since 11 Aug 2022CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 1 Sept 2022known use in ransomware campaignspublic exploit code
EPSS: 92.1%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.2% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
Fix: Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
Published: 12 Aug 2022analysed here 12 Nov 2026

Do first. Apply updates per vendor instructions. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)

Summary

Triage

Attack surface: Server-side
Exploitable: At runtime
Attack vector: network
Weakness: CWE-22 Path Traversal
Can a WAF block it?: Yes. See why

The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.

Affected products

Products named in our analysis

synacor:zimbra_collaboration_suite

Fix and mitigation

WAF and other mitigations

Can a WAF block it? Yes. The attack involves uploading a ZIP archive via the web interface without authentication, which contains files with directory traversal paths. A WAF could partially detect this by matching ZIP files with suspicious path sequences, but normal ZIP uploads might look similar. A custom WAF rule can filter ZIP archive containing directory traversal sequences in file paths, but attackers can vary the request. No tracked WAF vendor has published a rule for this CVE yet.

What a custom rule would match: ZIP archive containing directory traversal sequences in file paths

Also consider: patch · custom WAF rule · canonical path validation

Based on an AI reading of the CVE description, and no vendor rule found yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.

Remediation steps (AI-written)

Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.

Exploitation evidence

CISA KEV catalog: Listed since 11 Aug 2022. Known use in ransomware campaigns.
CISA due date: 1 Sept 2022, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Public exploit code: Yes: 1 Metasploit module · 3 GitHub proofs of concept · 1 Nuclei template
CISA SSVC: exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 10 Aug 2022 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.

Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.

Timeline

10 Aug 2022CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active
11 Aug 2022Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)1 day later
12 Aug 2022Published2 days later
18 Aug 2022First public exploit or proof of concept5 days later
1 Sept 2022CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)14 days later
4 Aug 2026CVE record last updated1,433 days (about 4 years) later
12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com100 days (about 3 months) later

CVSS vector

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

Metric	Value	What it means
Attack vector	NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network.	Reachable over the internet or any routable network.
Attack complexity	LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions.	Repeatable attack, no special conditions.
Privileges required	NoneThe attacker needs no prior access.	The attacker needs no prior access.
User interaction	NoneNo victim action needed.	No victim action needed.
Scope	UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.	Impact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality	HighTotal data disclosure possible.	Total data disclosure possible.
Integrity	HighComplete modification possible.	Complete modification possible.
Availability	HighFull outage possible.	Full outage possible.

Common questions

Is CVE-2022-37042 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2022-37042 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.

How severe is CVE-2022-37042?

CVE-2022-37042 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.

Is there a patch for CVE-2022-37042?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2022-37042. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2022-37042 affect?

CVE-2022-37042 affects synacor:zimbra_collaboration_suite. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

References

NVD CVE.org CVE Details Source

4 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.

Where the data on this page comes from

CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
NVD: CVSS and CPE data
CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
Nuclei templates: detection templates
PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept

Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.

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