CVE-2017-16943

Summary

CVECVE-2017-16943
StatePUBLISHED
Assignermitre
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2017-11-25 17:29:00 UTC
Updated2025-04-20 01:37:25 UTC
DescriptionThe receive_msg function in receive.c in the SMTP daemon in Exim 4.88 and 4.89 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (use-after-free) via vectors involving BDAT commands.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.0 9.8 CRITICAL from [email protected]

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS: 0.769250000 probability, percentile 0.989820000 (date 2026-05-14)

Problem Types: CWE-416 | n/a


VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.0[email protected]Primary9.8CRITICALCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
2.0[email protected]Primary7.5AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS v3.0 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 Breakdown

Access Vector
Network
Access Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

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

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Operating System Debian Debian Linux 9.0 All All All
Application Exim Exim 4.88 - All All
Application Exim Exim 4.89 - All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Na N/a affected n/a Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
Bug 2199 – Exim use-after-free vulnerability while reading mail header af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 bugs.exim.org Exploit, Issue Tracking
oss-security - Re: RCE in Exim reported af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 openwall.com Mailing List
[exim-announce] Critical Exim Security Vulnerability: disable chunking af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 lists.exim.org Mailing List
oss-security - 21Nails: Multiple vulnerabilities in Exim af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.openwall.com
git.exim.org Git - exim.git/commit af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 git.exim.org Patch
Exim Use-After-Free Memory Error in SMTP Service Lets Remote Users Execute Arbitrary Code on the Target System - SecurityTracker af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.securitytracker.com Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
Debian -- Security Information -- DSA-4053-1 exim4 af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.debian.org Third Party Advisory
oss-security - RCE in Exim reported af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 openwall.com Mailing List
PoC-Exploit-Mirror/CVE-2017-16944 at master · LetUsFsck/PoC-Exploit-Mirror · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Exploit
git.exim.org Git - exim.git/commitdiff af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 git.exim.org Patch
oss-security - Re: RCE in Exim reported af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 openwall.com Mailing List
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Legacy QID Mappings

  • 500885 Alpine Linux Security Update for exim
  • 504718 Alpine Linux Security Update for exim
  • 710286 Gentoo Linux Exim Multiple Vulnerabilities (GLSA 201803-01)
  • 750227 OpenSUSE Security Update for exim (openSUSE-SU-2021:0677-1)
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