IRONSMITHINTEL
CRITICALCVSS9.8
|
Actively Exploited
|CISA KEV|CVE-2022-41352|Auth: none — unauthenticated|Reboot: required|Manual only

Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) Arbitrary File Upload Vulnerability

Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) allows an attacker to upload arbitrary files using cpio package to gain incorrect access to any other user accounts.

Published Sep 26, 2022 · Updated May 16, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

A remote attacker, without authentication, can achieve full data confidentiality loss, arbitrary modification of data, complete denial of service or system unavailability. Federal agencies are required to remediate by 2022-11-10 under CISA BOD 22-01.

How the attack worksNo clicks needed

This is a Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS). An issue was discovered in Zimbra Collaboration (ZCS) 8.8.15 and 9.0. An attacker can upload arbitrary files through amavis via a cpio loophole (extraction to /opt/zimbra/jetty/webapps/zimbra/public) that can lead to incorrect access to any other user accounts. Zimbra recommends pax over cpio. Also, pax is in the prerequisites of Zimbra on Ubuntu; however, pax is no longer part of a default Red Hat installation after RHEL 6 (or CentOS 6). Once pax is installed, amavis automatically prefers it over cpio. Exploitation requires remote network access, low attack complexity, no authentication required, and no user interaction required.

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Phishing link

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Malicious file

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Server compromised

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

IT Security
Running zimbra collaboration suite: 9.0.0, 8.8.15
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

Active exploitation documented in the wild. Threat-research write-up: http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/169458/Zimbra-Collaboration-Suite-TAR-Path-Traversal.html

How to patch

Manual remediation steps

Apply the Vendor Patch

This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — apply the vendor's security update as soon as possible.

CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

References

    1
    Vendor advisory: https://wiki.zimbra.com/wiki/Security_Center
    1
    NVD entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-41352
    1
    CISA KEV: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-41352
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