CVE-2016-10033
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2016-10033 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLIC |
| Assigner | [email protected] |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2016-12-30 19:59:00 UTC |
| Updated | 2021-09-30 16:30:00 UTC |
| Description | The mailSend function in the isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \" (backslash double quote) in a crafted Sender property. |
Risk And Classification
EPSS: 0.944650000 probability, percentile 0.999960000 (date 2026-04-01)
CISA KEV: Listed on 2025-07-07; due 2025-07-28; ransomware use Unknown
Problem Types: CWE-77
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability
| Vendor | PHP |
|---|---|
| Product | PHPMailer |
| Name | PHPMailer Command Injection Vulnerability |
| Required Action | Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. |
| Notes | This vulnerability could affect an open-source component, third-party library, protocol, or proprietary implementation that could be used by different products. For more information, please see: https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/releases/tag/v5.2.18 ; https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-5f37-gxvh-23v6 ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10033 |
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version | Update | Edition | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | Joomla | Joomla! | All | All | All | All |
| Application | Phpmailer Project | Phpmailer | All | All | All | All |
| Application | Phpmailer Project | Phpmailer | All | All | All | All |
| Application | Wordpress | Wordpress | All | All | All | All |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release PHPMailer 5.2.18 · PHPMailer/PHPMailer · GitHub | CONFIRM | github.com | Patch, Vendor Advisory |
| SecurityFocus | BUGTRAQ | www.securityfocus.com | |
| CVE-2016-10033 PHPMailer Sendmail Argument Injection | Rapid7 | MISC | www.rapid7.com | Exploit, Third Party Advisory |
| PHPMailer < 5.2.20 - Remote Code Execution | EXPLOIT-DB | www.exploit-db.com | |
| PHPMailer Remote Code Execution ≈ Packet Storm | MISC | packetstormsecurity.com | Exploit, Third Party Advisory |
| About the CVE 2016 10033 and CVE 2016 10045 vulnerabilities · PHPMailer/PHPMailer Wiki · GitHub | CONFIRM | github.com | Patch, Vendor Advisory |
| WordPress Plugin PHPMailer 4.6 - Host Header Command Injection (Metasploit) - PHP remote Exploit | EXPLOIT-DB | www.exploit-db.com | |
| PHPMailer < 5.2.20 with Exim MTA - Remote Code Execution - PHP webapps Exploit | EXPLOIT-DB | www.exploit-db.com | |
| PHPMailer Input Validation Flaw Lets Remote Users Execute Arbitrary Code on the Target System - SecurityTracker | SECTRACK | www.securitytracker.com | |
| PHPMailer-Exploit-Remote-Code-Exec-CVE-2016-10033-Vuln | MISC | legalhackers.com | Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory |
| Full Disclosure: PHPMailer < 5.2.18 Remote Code Execution [CVE-2016-10033] | FULLDISC | seclists.org | Mailing List, Patch |
| PHPMailer CVE-2016-10033 Remote Code Execution Vulnerability | BID | www.securityfocus.com | Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry |
| PHPmailer 3rd party library -- DRUPAL-SA-PSA-2016-004 | Drupal.org | CONFIRM | www.drupal.org | Third Party Advisory |
| PHPMailer Sendmail Argument Injection ≈ Packet Storm | MISC | packetstormsecurity.com | Exploit, Third Party Advisory |
| PHPMailer < 5.2.18 - Remote Code Execution (PHP) | EXPLOIT-DB | www.exploit-db.com | Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory |
| PHPMailer < 5.2.20 / SwiftMailer < 5.4.5-DEV / Zend Framework / zend-mail < 2.4.11 - 'AIO' 'PwnScriptum' Remote Code Execution - PHP webapps Exploit | EXPLOIT-DB | www.exploit-db.com | |
| WordPress 4.6 - Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution | EXPLOIT-DB | www.exploit-db.com | |
| PHPMailer < 5.2.18 - Remote Code Execution (Bash) | EXPLOIT-DB | www.exploit-db.com | Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory |
| Vanilla Forums < 2.3 - Remote Code Execution - PHP remote Exploit | EXPLOIT-DB | www.exploit-db.com | |
| [20161205] - PHPMailer Security Advisory | CONFIRM | developer.joomla.org | Third Party Advisory |
| PHPMailer < 5.2.18 - Remote Code Execution (Python) - PHP webapps Exploit | EXPLOIT-DB | www.exploit-db.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
| CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog | CISA | www.cisa.gov | kev |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
Legacy QID Mappings
- 199517 Ubuntu Security Notification for PHPMailer Vulnerabilities (USN-5956-1)