Barracuda Email Security Gateway

2023: Barracuda information security equipment hacked by hackers should be thrown into landfill. Software fix won't help

On June 6, 2023, Barracuda Networks called on users of its ESG information security equipment to physically replace it in connection with the discovery of a dangerous zero-day vulnerability and hacker attacks. Updating the firmware in this case is not able to help.

ESG, or Email Security Gateway, are email security gateways designed to filter all inbound and outbound traffic. The devices have a critical CVE-2023-2868 gap that Barracuda Networks identified on May 19, 2023. The investigation showed that the attackers have been exploiting this hole for at least seven months - from October 2022. The vulnerability, in particular, can be used to spread malicious ON and steal information from corporate networks.

Barracuda Email Security Gateway

It was initially reported that the problem affects ESG versions 5.1.3.001-9.2.0.006. In its security recommendations, Barracuda said that the vulnerability exists in the software component responsible for checking email attachments for malware. On May 20, 2023, the company released a fix that was said to eliminate the danger.

However, it subsequently turned out that software updates are not able to completely fix the flaw, and the likelihood of a hacker invasion remains. Therefore, Barracuda is forced to take an unprecedented step and recommend that customers physically replace ESG devices - and this should be done immediately. The number of problematic ESGs in operation is very large. According to Barracuda itself, its network security solutions (different models - not only ESG) are used in more than 200,000 organizations around the world, including Samsung, Mitsubishi, Kraft Heinz, Delta Airlines and other well-known corporations.^[1]

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