Cisco AsyncOS Spam Quarantine (TCP/6025) Exposure & IOC Scanner (CVE-2025-20393)
by cyberdudebivash · 2026-07-06
- Severity
- Critical
- CVE
- CVE-2025-20393
- Category
- network
- Affected product
- Cisco AsyncOS for Secure Email Gateway (ESA) / Security Management Appliance (SMA)
- Affected versions
- Per Cisco advisory for CVE-2025-20393 (not enumerated in this repository)
- Disclosed
- 2026-07-06
- Patch status
- unpatched
Tags
Archive entry
intelseclab/poc-archiveMetadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date Added | 2026-07-06 |
| Last Updated | 2026-07-06 |
| Author / Researcher | cyberdudebivash |
| CVE / Advisory | CVE-2025-20393 |
| Category | network |
| Severity | Critical |
| CVSS Score | 10.0 (per repository) |
| Status | PoC |
| Tags | cisco, asyncos, secure-email-gateway, sma, spam-quarantine, tcp-6025, unauthenticated-rce, exposure-scanner, ioc-detection, backdoor-detection, python |
| Related | N/A |
Affected Target
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Software / System | Cisco AsyncOS for Secure Email Gateway (ESA) / Security Management Appliance (SMA) |
| Versions Affected | Per Cisco advisory for CVE-2025-20393 (not enumerated in this repository) |
| Language / Platform | Python 3 scanner against a network appliance’s Spam Quarantine service |
| Authentication Required | No (unauthenticated RCE per the CVE description); this scanner itself is detection-only |
| Network Access Required | Yes (TCP/6025, the Spam Quarantine service port) |
Summary
CVE-2025-20393 is an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability in Cisco AsyncOS’s Spam Quarantine service, which listens on TCP/6025. This repository provides a detection-only tool that (1) checks whether TCP/6025 is reachable on a target Secure Email Gateway/SMA appliance, (2) optionally performs a safe, non-exploitative HTTP probe of the quarantine web interface to gauge responsiveness, and (3) can run a local IOC sweep on the appliance itself for artifacts of known post-exploitation backdoors (e.g. AquaShell-style tunneling tools). It performs no exploitation of the underlying vulnerability — it is purely a reconnaissance/compromise-assessment aid.
Vulnerability Details
Root Cause
Not exploited by this tool (which is detection-only); the scanner’s own comments describe the exposed surface it checks:
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The underlying CVE is an unauthenticated RCE in the AsyncOS Spam Quarantine service bound to this port; the scanner’s role is to flag exposure of that attack surface and check for local signs it has already been exploited, not to trigger the overflow/injection itself.
Attack Vector
- Scanner performs a TCP connect check against port 6025 on the target host to determine if the Spam Quarantine service is network-reachable.
- If open, an optional
--probeflag performs a safeGET /quarantinerequest to the service to confirm it responds as expected, without sending any exploit payload. - When run locally on the appliance (
--local-ioc), the tool checks for filesystem/process indicators of known post-exploitation backdoors (e.g. AquaShell or other tunneling implants) that attackers have been observed deploying after exploiting this CVE. - Results are classified into a risk level with corresponding remediation guidance; actual remote exploitation of the RCE is out of scope for this tool.
Impact
As documented (not directly demonstrated by this detection-only scanner): unauthenticated exploitation of the underlying AsyncOS Spam Quarantine RCE grants remote code execution on the Secure Email Gateway/SMA appliance.
Environment / Lab Setup
Target: Cisco AsyncOS-based Secure Email Gateway (ESA) or Security Management
Appliance (SMA) with the Spam Quarantine service (TCP/6025) enabled
Attacker: Python 3, `pip install requests`
Proof of Concept
PoC Script
See
scanner.pyin this folder.
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Detection & Indicators of Compromise
TCP connect probe: <target>:6025 (open = potential exposure)
GET http://<target>:6025/quarantine HTTP/1.1 (safe reachability probe)
Signs of compromise:
- TCP/6025 (Spam Quarantine) reachable from untrusted/external networks
- Local filesystem or process artifacts matching known post-exploitation tooling (e.g. AquaShell-style tunneling backdoors) on the appliance
- Unexpected outbound tunneling connections originating from the ESA/SMA appliance
- Quarantine interface responses that differ from the expected baseline (may indicate tampering)
Remediation
| Action | Detail |
|---|---|
| Primary fix | Apply the Cisco security advisory patch for CVE-2025-20393 per Cisco’s published fixed AsyncOS releases |
| Interim mitigation | Restrict TCP/6025 via firewall to trusted management IPs only; disable the Spam Quarantine service if not required; run the local IOC check on appliances that were ever exposed to determine if compromise already occurred |
References
Notes
Mirrored from https://github.com/cyberdudebivash/CYBERDUDEBIVASH-Cisco-AsyncOS-CVE-2025-20393-Scanner on 2026-07-06. scanner.py is a functional detection tool (TCP/6025 exposure check, optional quarantine-interface probe, local IOC detection) rather than a weaponized exploit — status marked as PoC accordingly. README carries heavy self-promotional branding/links to the author’s other properties, which was excluded from this write-up beyond attribution.
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