Cyber Resilience

CVE-2022-23940

RCE in Salesagility Suitecrm ≤ 7.12.5

Public PoCHigh EPSSRCEDeserialization
Published
10 March 2022
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.53 99th percentile
Risk Priority 80 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2022-23940 is a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Salesagility Suitecrm. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

SuiteCRM through version 7.12.1 and 8.x through 8.0.1 contains a remote code execution vulnerability that arises from unsafe PHP deserialization of the email_recipients property inside the Scheduled Reports module. The affected component accepts attacker-controlled serialized data that is later deserialized during report access, and the application ships with several deserialization gadget chains from dependencies such as Monolog that can be chained for arbitrary code execution.

An authenticated user who has access to the Scheduled Reports module can create a malicious report containing a crafted payload in the email_recipients field. When any user or scheduled process subsequently views or processes the report, the backend deserializes the field and executes the payload, resulting in remote code execution with the privileges of the web application process.

The referenced SuiteCRM 8.0 release documentation indicates that the issue is resolved in versions after 8.0.1. The EPSS score has remained flat at its peak value of 0.4487 with no material increase after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

SuiteCRM through 7.12.1 and 8.x through 8.0.1 allows Remote Code Execution. Authenticated users with access to the Scheduled Reports module can achieve this by leveraging PHP deserialization in the email_recipients property. By using a crafted request, they can create a…

more

malicious report, containing a PHP-deserialization payload in the email_recipients field. Once someone accesses this report, the backend will deserialize the content of the email_recipients field and the payload gets executed. Project dependencies include a number of interesting PHP deserialization gadgets (e.g., Monolog/RCE1 from phpggc) that can be used for Code Execution.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
Unsafe deserialization of attacker-controlled email_recipients data in a web-accessible Scheduled Reports module directly enables remote code execution against a public-facing application.
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Executionconfidence: HIGH
Successful exploitation of the deserialization gadget chains results in arbitrary command execution on the server.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalationconfidence: MEDIUM
RCE achieved via the web application process may be leveraged to escalate privileges if that process runs with elevated rights.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-54787Same product: Salesagility Suitecrm
CVE-2025-54785Same product: Salesagility Suitecrm
CVE-2023-6131Same product: Salesagility Suitecrm
CVE-2023-5350Same product: Salesagility Suitecrm
CVE-2020-28328Same product: Salesagility Suitecrm
CVE-2024-36413Same product: Salesagility Suitecrm
CVE-2024-50333Same product: Salesagility Suitecrm
CVE-2023-6128Same product: Salesagility Suitecrm
CVE-2024-36408Same product: Salesagility Suitecrm
CVE-2024-36410Same product: Salesagility Suitecrm

Affected Assets

salesagility
suitecrm
≤ 7.12.5 · 8.0 — 8.0.4

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
  • AC-6 Least Privilege
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Enforces validation of the email_recipients field before deserialization, directly blocking the crafted PHP payload that leads to RCE.

prevent

Restricts which authenticated users can access or create Scheduled Reports, limiting the population able to inject the malicious serialized object.

prevent

Requires prompt application of the vendor fix that eliminates unsafe deserialization of the email_recipients property after version 8.0.1.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-02 none match
prevents

PR.PS-02 addresses only post-deployment updates/patching and cannot prevent introduction of unsafe deserialization code, yet it can remediate some instances when the flaw exists in outdated libraries or components.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing includes validation of deserialization routines and the use of untrusted data, reducing the likelihood that unsafe object reconstruction will be deployed.

prevents

Requiring vetted libraries, regular updates and SAST before release reduces the likelihood that deserialization logic will accept and act on attacker-controlled serialized objects.

detects

Regular scanning of third-party libraries and timely patching reduce the likelihood that unsafe deserialization vulnerabilities remain active.

none

Mandatory malware scanning of data received over networks or storage media intercepts malicious serialized payloads before they are deserialized by the target application.

References