NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

CVE-2013-4984: The close_connections function in /opt/cma/bin/clear_keys.pl in Sophos Web Appliance before 3.7.9.1 and 3.8 before 3.8.1.1 allows local…

HighCVSS 7.2 · v2.0—Weaponized No fix recorded

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Plan (action score 40/100)

A ready-made attack module is public (Metasploit); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
Because a ready-made attack tool exists, priority is at least “Plan”.
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 8.1% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 94.9% of all records.
No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.

Add it to your regular patch cycle. Update when a fix is released; follow the vendor's advisory.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

The close_connections function in /opt/cma/bin/clear_keys.pl in Sophos Web Appliance before 3.7.9.1 and 3.8 before 3.8.1.1 allows local users to gain privileges via shell metacharacters in the second argument.

Published: Sep 10, 2013
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
EPSS: 8.1% · 94th percentile
CWE: CWE-78

Report tools

JSON

Action score

Plan

Add it to your regular patch cycle.

CVSS: 28 / 40 · 7.2 / 10
CISA KEV: 0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS: 2 / 30 · 8.1%
Ready-made attack tool: 10 / 40 · floor: at least 40

Get told when this record changes

Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
Weaponized exploit exists
No fixed version yet

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

Vendor	Product	CPE
sophos	web appliance	cpe:2.3:a:sophos:web_appliance

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

sophos web applianceup to 3.7.9 inclusive
sophos web appliance3.0.0
sophos web appliance3.0.1
sophos web appliance3.0.1.1
sophos web appliance3.0.2
sophos web appliance3.0.3
sophos web appliance3.0.4
sophos web appliance3.0.5

+12 more rows

sophos web appliance3.0.5.1
sophos web appliance3.1.0
sophos web appliance3.1.0.1
sophos web appliance3.1.1
sophos web appliance3.1.2
sophos web appliance3.1.3
sophos web appliance3.1.4
sophos web appliance3.2.1
sophos web appliance3.2.2
sophos web appliance3.2.2.1
sophos web appliance3.2.3
sophos web appliance3.2.4

Same product

sophos: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2023-1671A pre-auth command injection vulnerability in the warn-proceed handler of Sophos Web Appliance older than version 4.3.10.4 allows execution…KEV
99Now
CVE-2017-6182In Sophos Web Appliance (SWA) before 4.3.1.2, a section of the machine's interface responsible for generating reports was vulnerable to…
44Plan
CVE-2016-9554The Sophos Web Appliance Remote / Secure Web Gateway server (version 4.2.1.3) is vulnerable to a Remote Command Injection vulnerability in…
36Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

Later →CVE-2016-9553Jan 28, 2017 · The Sophos Web Appliance (version 4.2.1.3) is vulnerable to two Remote Command Injection vulnerabilities affecting its web administrative…
34Monitor
Later →CVE-2017-6183Mar 30, 2017 · In Sophos Web Appliance (SWA) before 4.3.1.2, a section of the machine's configuration utilities for adding (and detecting) Active…
29Monitor
Later →CVE-2017-6184Mar 30, 2017 · In Sophos Web Appliance (SWA) before 4.3.1.2, a section of the machine's interface responsible for generating reports was vulnerable to…
19Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

Weaponized

A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.

Evidence

Metasploit module ×1
Exploit-DB entry ×2

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
Source	Kind	Date
Exploit-DB entry	local	2013-09-17
Exploit-DB entry	webapps	2013-09-09
Metasploit module	exploit/linux/local/sophos_wpa_clear_keysSophos Web Protection Appliance clear_keys.pl Local Privilege Escalationexploit	2013-09-06

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

MetasploitSep 6, 2013-4 d
First PoCSep 9, 2013-1 d
PublishedSep 10, 2013
TodayNov 13, 2026+4813 d

Bug bounty scope

SophosBugcrowd · paid · up to $80,000

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate.

Technical details

Attack conditions

No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality: C · data can be read
Integrity: C · data or configuration can be modified
Availability: C · the service can be disrupted

Attack complexity: Low
Confidentiality impact: C
Integrity impact: C
Availability impact: C

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-78 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

CVSS vector

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

nvd-primary

Root cause

User input is inserted as text into a shell command. The shell may interpret special characters in the input as part of the command.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-78 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

1const host = req.body.host;
2exec("ping -c 1 " + host, onResult);

Fixed

1const host = req.body.host;
2if (!/^[a-z0-9.-]{1,253}$/i.test(host)) return res.sendStatus(400);
3execFile("ping", ["-c", "1", host], onResult);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Attack patterns (CAPEC)

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log (0)

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

www.sophos.com/en-us/support/knowledgebase/119773.aspx

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records