CVE-2020-8015
Local privilege escalation in exim package from user mail to root
A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the packaging of exim in openSUSE Factory allows local attackers to escalate from user mail to root. This issue affects: openSUSE Factory exim versions prior to 4.93.0.4-3.1.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
8.4
Local privilege escalation in exim package from user mail to root
A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the packaging of exim in openSUSE Factory allows local attackers to escalate from user mail to root. This issue affects: openSUSE Factory exim versions prior to 4.93.0.4-3.1.
- Record
CVE-2020-8015- CVSS 3.1
- 8.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-59
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-28928
8.4
A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the packaging of exim in openSUSE Factory allows local attackers to escalate from user mail to root. This issue affects: openSUSE Factory exim versions prior to 4.93.0.4-3.1.
- Record
EUVD-2020-28928- CVSS 3.1
- 8.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-rpgh-5p2m-vxqx No score
A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the packaging of exim in openSUSE...
A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the packaging of exim in openSUSE Factory allows local attackers to escalate from user mail to root. This issue affects: openSUSE Factory exim versions prior to 4.93.0.4-3.1.
- Record
GHSA-rpgh-5p2m-vxqx- Weakness
- CWE-59
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
8.4
A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the packaging of exim in openSUSE Factory allows local attackers to escalate from user mail to root. This issue affects: openSUSE Factory exim versions prior to 4.93.0.4-3.1.
- Record
CVE-2020-8015- CVSS 3.1
- 8.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.2 High
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-59
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2020:0491-1 No score
Security update for exim
This update for exim fixes the following issues:
- CVE-2020-8015: Fixed a local privilege escalation from user mail to root (boo#1154183).
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2020:0491-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2021:0753-1 No score
Security update for exim
This update for exim fixes the following issues:
exim was updated to 4.94.2:
security update (boo#1185631)
- CVE-2020-28007: Link attack in Exim's log directory
- CVE-2020-28008: Assorted attacks in Exim's spool directory
- CVE-2020-28014: Arbitrary PID file creation
- CVE-2020-28011: Heap buffer overflow in queue_run()
- CVE-2020-28010: Heap out-of-bounds write in main()
- CVE-2020-28013: Heap buffer overflow in parse_fix_phrase()
- CVE-2020-28016: Heap out-of-bounds write in parse_fix_phrase()
- CVE-2020-28015: New-line injection into spool header file (local)
- CVE-2020-28012: Missing close-on-exec flag for privileged pipe
- CVE-2020-28009: Integer overflow in get_stdinput()
- CVE-2020-28017: Integer overflow in receive_add_recipient()
- CVE-2020-28020: Integer overflow in receive_msg()
- CVE-2020-28023: Out-of-bounds read in smtp_setup_msg()
- CVE-2020-28021: New-line injection into spool header file (remote)
- CVE-2020-28022: Heap out-of-bounds read and write in extract_option()
- CVE-2020-28026: Line truncation and injection in spool_read_header()
- CVE-2020-28019: Failure to reset function pointer after BDAT error
- CVE-2020-28024: Heap buffer underflow in smtp_ungetc()
- CVE-2020-28018: Use-after-free in tls-openssl.c
- CVE-2020-28025: Heap out-of-bounds read in pdkim_finish_bodyhash()
update to exim-4.94.1
- Fix security issue in BDAT state confusion. Ensure we reset known-good where we know we need to not be reading BDAT data, as a general case fix, and move the places where we switch to BDAT mode until after various protocol state checks. Fixes CVE-2020-BDATA reported by Qualys.
- Fix security issue in SMTP verb option parsing (CVE-2020-EXOPT)
- Fix security issue with too many recipients on a message (to remove a known security problem if someone does set recipients_max to unlimited, or if local additions add to the recipient list). Fixes CVE-2020-RCPTL reported by Qualys.
- Fix CVE-2020-28016 (PFPZA): Heap out-of-bounds write in parse_fix_phrase()
- Fix security issue CVE-2020-PFPSN and guard against cmdline invoker providing a particularly obnoxious sender full name.
- Fix Linux security issue CVE-2020-SLCWD and guard against PATH_MAX better.
-
bring back missing exim_db.8 manual page (fixes boo#1173693)
-
bring in changes from current +fixes (lots of taint check fixes)
- Bug 1329: Fix format of Maildir-format filenames to match other mail- related applications. Previously an 'H' was used where available info says that 'M' should be, so change to match.
- Bug 2587: Fix pam expansion condition. Tainted values are commonly used as arguments, so an implementation trying to copy these into a local buffer was taking a taint-enforcement trap. Fix by using dynamically created buffers.
- Bug 2586: Fix listcount expansion operator. Using tainted arguments is reasonable, eg. to count headers. Fix by using dynamically created buffers rather than a local. Do similar fixes for ACL actions 'dcc', 'log_reject_target', 'malware' and 'spam'; the arguments are expanded so could be handling tainted values.
- Bug 2590: Fix -bi (newaliases). A previous code rearrangement had broken the (no-op) support for this sendmail command. Restore it to doing nothing, silently, and returning good status.
update to exim 4.94
- some transports now refuse to use tainted data in constructing their delivery location this WILL BREAK configurations which are not updated accordingly. In particular: any Transport use of $local_user which has been relying upon check_local_user far away in the Router to make it safe, should be updated to replace $local_user with $local_part_data.
- Attempting to remove, in router or transport, a header name that ends with an asterisk (which is a standards-legal name) will now result in all headers named starting with the string before…
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2021:0753-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:10746-1 No score
exim-4.94.2-4.2 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the exim-4.94.2-4.2 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:10746-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
eximopenSUSE:Leap 15.1 |
before 4.88-lp151.4.12.1 | 4.88-lp151.4.12.1 |
eximSUSE:Package Hub 15 SP1 From an advisory covering 30 CVEs |
before 4.94.2-bp151.2.4.1 | 4.94.2-bp151.2.4.1 |
libspf2SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP1 From an advisory covering 30 CVEs |
before 1.2.10-bp151.4.1 | 1.2.10-bp151.4.1 |
eximopenSUSE:Tumbleweed From an advisory covering 31 CVEs |
before 4.94.2-4.2 | 4.94.2-4.2 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-8015 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.4) in Exim, published April 2, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.53%, the 44th percentile. Fixed in exim 4.88-lp151.4.12.1.
References
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-04/msg00010.html
bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1154183
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8015
github.com/advisories/GHSA-rpgh-5p2m-vxqx
lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/[email protected]/thread/WJR5MNZSFIS6CLLRASPPRSAP44RXZCZX
bugzilla.suse.com/1154183
Show 40 moreShow less
bugzilla.suse.com/1160726
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8015
lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/[email protected]/thread/UMX36VOLIS2TDKA3MXOUO365NDUK5WQ3
bugzilla.suse.com/1079832
bugzilla.suse.com/1136587
bugzilla.suse.com/1142207
bugzilla.suse.com/1171490
bugzilla.suse.com/1171877
bugzilla.suse.com/1173693
bugzilla.suse.com/1185631
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-1000369
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16943
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16944
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-6789
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-10149
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-13917
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-15846
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-16928
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-12783
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28007
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28008
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28009
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28010
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28011
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28012
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28013
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28014
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28015
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28016
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28017
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28018
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28019
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28020
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28021
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28022
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28023
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28024
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28025
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-28026
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-9963
Left out here: the rest of 1 source description. The JSON record has them.