Cyber Resilience

CVE-2022-27925

Path Traversal in Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite 8.8.15 … 9.0.0

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedPath Traversal
Published
21 April 2022
Modified
04 August 2026
KEV Added
11 August 2022
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.99 99.9th percentile
Risk Priority 79 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2022-27925 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

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

Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) versions 8.8.15 and 9.0 contain a path traversal flaw in the mboximport component. The function accepts a ZIP archive from an authenticated caller and extracts its contents without properly sanitizing file paths, enabling an administrator to write arbitrary files outside the intended directory.

An attacker who already possesses administrator credentials can upload a crafted ZIP archive through the mboximport interface. Successful exploitation grants the ability to place files anywhere on the filesystem, which, given the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H), can result in full control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the ZCS installation.

Zimbra’s security advisories and release notes direct administrators to apply the fixes shipped in the P24 patch for the 9.0 branch and corresponding updates for 8.8.15; the wiki pages also list the affected builds and the corrected versions.

The CVE carries an EPSS score that has reached a peak of 0.9732 and currently stands at 0.9431, reflecting sustained exploitation interest after disclosure. Public proof-of-concept material is available on Packet Storm, and Zimbra has published corresponding security-center entries.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Zimbra Collaboration (aka ZCS) 8.8.15 and 9.0 has mboximport functionality that receives a ZIP archive and extracts files from it. An authenticated user with administrator rights has the ability to upload arbitrary files to the system, leading to directory traversal.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
11 August 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-41352Same product: Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suiteboth on KEV
CVE-2022-37042Same product: Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suiteboth on KEV
CVE-2021-27065Same product class: email / collaborationboth on KEV
CVE-2024-33535Same product class: email / collaboration
CVE-2024-1708Shared CWE-22both on KEV
CVE-2021-42013Shared CWE-22both on KEV
CVE-2019-7194Shared CWE-22both on KEV
CVE-2024-41713Shared CWE-22both on KEV
CVE-2021-20123Shared CWE-22both on KEV
CVE-2019-16278Shared CWE-22both on KEV

Affected Assets

synacor
zimbra collaboration suite
8.8.15, 9.0.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

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 partial match
prevents

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
prevents

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References