CVE-2022-35405
RCE in Zohocorp Manageengine Access Manager Plus ≤ 4.3
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2022-35405 is a critical-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Zohocorp Manageengine Access Manager Plus. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 0.0% 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.
Zoho ManageEngine Password Manager Pro versions prior to 12101 and PAM360 versions prior to 5510 contain an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability stemming from unsafe deserialization of untrusted data (CWE-502). The same issue affects ManageEngine Access Manager Plus before version 4303, although that product requires authentication for exploitation. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 and resides in the XML-RPC handling path of these password and privileged-access management products.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can submit a crafted XML-RPC request that triggers Java deserialization, resulting in arbitrary code execution on the server. Successful exploitation grants the attacker full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact without any user interaction or prior credentials.
Vendor advisories from ManageEngine direct customers to upgrade Password Manager Pro to 12101 or later, PAM360 to 5510 or later, and Access Manager Plus to 4303 or later. Public exploit code targeting the deserialization vector has been published, and the vulnerability appears in CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
The associated EPSS score reached a peak of 0.9753 and currently stands at 0.9420, indicating sustained and substantial exploitation interest following disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-38295
Vulnerability Data
Zoho ManageEngine Password Manager Pro before 12101 and PAM360 before 5510 are vulnerable to unauthenticated remote code execution. (This also affects ManageEngine Access Manager Plus before 4303 with authentication.)
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 22 September 2022
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
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.
Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.
Evaluation of untrusted data handling (deserialization testing) reveals unsafe processing, which the required remediation process addresses.
Untrusted serialized data can be deserialized and observed inside the chamber, blocking gadget-chain exploitation outside the sandbox.
Validates or rejects untrusted serialized data before deserialization occurs.
Identifies and blocks malicious code introduced through deserialization of untrusted data at system boundaries.
Integrity verification of serialized information can detect tampering before deserialization occurs.
Provenance of associated data allows detection of untrusted sources before deserialization or processing occurs.
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 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.
Security testing includes validation of deserialization routines and the use of untrusted data, reducing the likelihood that unsafe object reconstruction will be deployed.
Requiring vetted libraries, regular updates and SAST before release reduces the likelihood that deserialization logic will accept and act on attacker-controlled serialized objects.
Regular scanning of third-party libraries and timely patching reduce the likelihood that unsafe deserialization vulnerabilities remain active.
Mandatory malware scanning of data received over networks or storage media intercepts malicious serialized payloads before they are deserialized by the target application.