Unauthenticated OS Command Injection RCE in Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite
CISA: Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) OS Command Injection Vulnerability
CVSS 3.1
8.9high
EPSS
32%p98
Published
()
KEV added
AI analysis
CVE-2026-73570 is an OS command injection vulnerability (CWE-78) in Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) before 10.1.20, caused by improper sanitization of untrusted input during SNMP notification processing. It is triggered when the optional zimbra-snmp package is installed and SNMP notifications are enabled: an unauthenticated attacker sends specially crafted SMTP requests that the flawed notification path turns into execution of arbitrary operating system commands. Successful exploitation runs commands as the Zimbra user, giving attackers control of the mail server's service account with high confidentiality and integrity impact across the host. Only ZCS deployments running the optional SNMP component with notifications enabled are vulnerable; other Zimbra installs are not exposed to this specific flaw. The flaw is under active exploitation: CISA added it to the KEV catalog on 2026-08-21, Poland's CERT has warned of in-the-wild attacks, unpatched Zimbra servers are reported compromised, and two public proof-of-concept exploits exist.
What to do: Upgrade to Zimbra Collaboration Suite 10.1.20 or later per vendor instructions; as an interim mitigation, disable SNMP notifications or remove the zimbra-snmp package on hosts that do not need it. Federal operators must satisfy the CISA KEV/BOD 26-04 requirement, and all administrators of internet-facing Zimbra servers should hunt for signs of compromise (unexpected processes or persistence under the zimbra user) since unpatched systems are already being exploited.
Affected
Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS)
before 10.1.20 (when the optional zimbra-snmp package is installed and SNMP notifications are enabled)
Estimated exposure
large≈10,000-50,000 internet-exposed ZCS servers, with only the subset running zimbra-snmp with notifications enabled actually vulnerable — Public internet scans have historically shown tens of thousands of exposed Zimbra servers across service providers, government, and education, but the optional SNMP-enabled condition narrows this to an unknown subset, so this is an…
Order-of-magnitude estimate by the model from install counts, market share and public scan data it knows; verify before quoting.
Description
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Zimbra Collaboration (ZCS) before 10.1.20 when the optional zimbra-snmp package is installed and SNMP notifications are enabled. Due to improper sanitization of untrusted input during SNMP notification processing, an unauthenticated attacker can send specially crafted SMTP requests that may result in execution of arbitrary operating system commands as the Zimbra user.
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability
Affected
Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS)
Required action
Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.
CISA added actively exploited Zimbra OS command injection flaw CVE-2026-73570 to its KEV catalog, urging users to patch by August 24, 2026.
CISA warned that Zimbra vulnerability CVE-2026-73570 is being actively exploited in the wild and added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog. The OS command injection flaw resides in the SNMP monitoring component and is exploitable when SNMP notifications are enabled. Users, including US federal agencies subject to BOD deadlines, were urged to apply fixes before the August 24, 2026 deadline. Qualys ThreatPROTECT published tracking coverage of the KEV addition.
Attackers are exploiting unpatched Zimbra servers via CVE-2026-73570; 274 instances compromised, and CISA added the flaw to its KEV catalog.
The Shadowserver Foundation counted at least 274 compromised internet-facing Zimbra Collaboration Suite instances exploited through CVE-2026-73570, up from 155 on August 20. The unauthenticated code injection flaw affects servers with the optional zimbra-snmp package and SNMP notifications enabled, allowing arbitrary OS command execution via crafted SMTP requests. Synacor patched the issue in ZCS v10.1.20 on July 20, 2026, and at least 8,200 instances remain unpatched. CISA added the flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and gave US federal civilian agencies three days to remediate and check for compromise.
CISA gave US agencies three days to patch actively exploited Zimbra flaw CVE-2026-73570, which allows full takeover of user communications.
CISA set a three-day remediation deadline for federal agencies to patch CVE-2026-73570, a Zimbra vulnerability that enables full takeover of a user's communications. The flaw is being actively exploited, underscoring the shrinking window between disclosure and exploitation. Dark Reading frames the case as evidence defenders must accelerate patch cycles.
CERT Polska confirms active exploitation of critical unauthenticated RCE CVE-2026-73570 in Zimbra Collaboration Suite, patched July 20.
CERT Polska confirmed threat actors are actively exploiting CVE-2026-73570, an unauthenticated OS command injection in Zimbra Collaboration Suite allowing arbitrary shell commands as the zimbra user. Exploitation requires the SNMP trap service via snmp_notify with swatchdog running, which is enabled by default; Shadowserver tracks over 12,100 internet-exposed Zimbra servers. Zimbra fixed the flaw in version 10.1.20 on July 20, 2026, 28 days before exploitation was confirmed. Historical Zimbra targeting includes Winter Vivern, APT29, and APT28 campaigns.
CISA added actively exploited Zimbra flaw CVE-2026-73570 (unauthenticated OS command injection RCE) to its KEV catalog, setting an August 24, 2026 federal patch deadline.
CISA added CVE-2026-73570, an unauthenticated OS command injection flaw in Zimbra Collaboration Suite, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog after CERT Polska confirmed active exploitation. The flaw lets attackers execute shell commands as the zimbra user via the snmp_notify parameter when the SNMP trap service is enabled and the default swatchdog service is running. Zimbra patched the issue in version 10.1.20 released July 20, 2026, 28 days before exploitation was confirmed. Under BOD 22-01, federal civilian agencies must patch by August 24, 2026.
CERT Polska and CISA report active exploitation of Zimbra RCE CVE-2026-73570, with 267 instances compromised per Shadowserver.
CVE-2026-73570 (CVSS 8.9) enables unauthenticated command injection and remote code execution in Zimbra Collaboration before 10.1.20 when the optional zimbra-snmp package is installed and SNMP notifications are enabled, via crafted SMTP requests. CISA added the flaw to its KEV catalog on August 21, 2026, with a federal patch deadline of August 24. The Shadowserver Foundation counted 267 compromised instances as of August 24, 2026, led by the US (46), Sweden (21), France (20) and Germany (17). Separately, Russia-linked Laundry Bear has weaponized Zimbra stored XSS CVE-2025-66376 against Western government and commercial mail servers since at least July 2025, delivering the ZimReaper payload.
Help Net Security's weekly digest highlights 274 compromised Zimbra servers, Gitea and Citrix NetScaler KEV additions, a PaperCut zero-day, and a suspected Iran-linked power plant attack.
The roundup reports at least 274 internet-facing Zimbra instances compromised via CVE-2026-73570, critical Gitea CVE-2026-60004 added to CISA's KEV catalog after exploitation began, and previously patched Citrix NetScaler flaw CVE-2026-8452 exploited in the wild. It also covers PaperCut NG/MF zero-day attacks, a suspected Iran-linked shutdown of a UK power plant, an FBI seizure of domains tied to a China-linked group that hit NASA, DOJ and the Senate, a cyberattack disrupting Boston Scientific, and the Manchester Airports Group breach. Additional items include Chameleon SEO poisoning phishing, Android car head unit proxy botnet malware, ReliaQuest social engineering by ShinyHunters, fake OpenAI Codex macOS malware, and AI-related workforce and supply chain interviews.