CVE-2017-16944

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Summary

CVECVE-2017-16944
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 cause a denial of service (infinite loop and stack exhaustion) via vectors involving BDAT commands and an improper check for a '.' character signifying the end of the content, related to the bdat_getc function.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.0 7.5 HIGH from [email protected]

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

EPSS: 0.774340000 probability, percentile 0.990050000 (date 2026-05-14)

Problem Types: CWE-835 | n/a

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.0[email protected]Primary7.5HIGHCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
2.0[email protected]Primary5AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

CVSS v3.0 Breakdown

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

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

CVSS v2.0 Breakdown

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

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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 All
Application Exim Exim 4.89 All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

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

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
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
Exim Infinite Loop in bdat_getc() Lets Remote Users Consume Excessive Memory Resources - SecurityTracker af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.securitytracker.com Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
oss-security - 21Nails: Multiple vulnerabilities in Exim af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.openwall.com
Bug 2201 – Exim handles BDAT data incorrectly and leads to crash af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 bugs.exim.org Exploit, Issue Tracking
Debian -- Security Information -- DSA-4053-1 exim4 af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.debian.org Third Party Advisory
Exim 4.89 - 'BDAT' Denial of Service - Multiple dos Exploit af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.exploit-db.com Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
oss-security - RCE in Exim reported af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 openwall.com Mailing List
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

  • 500886 Alpine Linux Security Update for exim
  • 504719 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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