Security Resilience

CVE-2023-22952

RCE in Sugarcrm 11.0.0 – 11.0.5

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRCE
Published
11 January 2023
Modified
03 November 2025
KEV Added
02 February 2023
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 0.80 99.6th percentile
Risk Priority 90 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-22952 is a high-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability in Sugarcrm Sugarcrm. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked in the top 0.4% 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.

CVE-2023-22952 affects SugarCRM versions prior to 12.0 Hotfix 91155. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation in the EmailTemplates component, allowing a crafted request to inject arbitrary PHP code (CWE-20 and CWE-94). It carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8, reflecting network-accessible exploitation with low attack complexity and low required privileges.

An authenticated attacker can submit a malicious request that results in remote code execution, granting full control over the affected application including the ability to read, modify, or delete data and potentially pivot within the environment. Public proof-of-concept material demonstrates remote shell upload via this vector.

SugarCRM's security advisory directs customers to apply Hotfix 91155, and the vulnerability appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. The associated EPSS score remains elevated at 0.93, indicating sustained exploitation interest following disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In SugarCRM before 12.0. Hotfix 91155, a crafted request can inject custom PHP code through the EmailTemplates because of missing input validation.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
02 February 2023

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.001 Junk Data Command And Control
Adversaries may add junk data to protocols used for command and control to make detection more difficult.
T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
T1003.008 /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump the contents of <code>/etc/passwd</code> and <code>/etc/shadow</code> to enable offline password cracking.
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-35809Same product: Sugarcrm Sugarcrm
CVE-2023-46816Same product: Sugarcrm Sugarcrm
CVE-2012-0694Same product: Sugarcrm Sugarcrm
CVE-2012-1535Shared CWE-20, CWE-94both on KEV
CVE-2026-34197Shared CWE-20, CWE-94both on KEV
CVE-2019-0193Shared CWE-94both on KEV
CVE-2023-6548Shared CWE-94both on KEV
CVE-2023-25717Shared CWE-94both on KEV
CVE-2019-16759Shared CWE-94both on KEV
CVE-2015-1635Shared CWE-94both on KEV

Affected Assets

sugarcrm
sugarcrm
11.0.0 — 11.0.5 · 12.0.0 — 12.0.2

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)
  • V1.3.1

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-20 CWE-94

Directly implements checks on information inputs to reject invalid data before processing.

addresses: CWE-20

Security testing and developer training directly verify and enforce proper input validation, reducing exploitability of injection and malformed-data weaknesses.

addresses: CWE-20

Security testing and evaluation at multiple SDLC stages directly detects missing or flawed input validation, with the required remediation process ensuring fixes are applied.

addresses: CWE-94

Makes persistent code injection into loaded programs impossible when the executable image itself resides on hardware-protected read-only media.

addresses: CWE-94

Dynamically generated code can be produced and executed inside the isolated chamber, preventing host compromise from code-injection payloads.

addresses: CWE-94

Directly prevents execution of attacker-supplied code written into data memory regions.

addresses: CWE-20

Spam protection mechanisms perform filtering and detection on inbound/outbound messages, directly compensating for missing or weak input validation of unsolicited content.

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-06 mostly match
blocks

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly target injection flaws via secure coding and testing (mostly), yet as a single broad outcome it leaves many code-generation specifics unaddressed (partial).

PR.DS-10 none match
blocks

PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.

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.

removes
removes
removes
removes
removes

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-20, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.

References