CVE-2021-38542
Apache James vulnerable to STARTTLS command injection (IMAP and POP3)
Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.
- Record
CVE-2021-38542- CVSS 3.1
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 4.3 Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-77, CWE-327
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Apache James vulnerable to STARTTLS command injection (IMAP and POP3)
Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.
- Record
CVE-2021-38542- Weakness
- CWE-77
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-0517 No score
Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.
- Record
EUVD-2022-0517- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-84wg-rgp8-2hg4
Command Injection in Apache James
Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.
- Record
GHSA-84wg-rgp8-2hg4- CVSS 3.1
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-77, CWE-327
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.
- Record
CVE-2021-38542- CVSS 3.1
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-84wg-rgp8-2hg4
Command Injection in Apache James
Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.
- Record
GHSA-84wg-rgp8-2hg4- CVSS 3.1
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-327, CWE-77
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
org.apache.james:james-serverMaven |
before 3.6.1 | 3.6.1 |
org.apache.james:james-serverMaven |
before 3.6.1, plus listed versions 3.0-M13.0-M23.0-beta23.0-beta33.0-beta4 Show 10 moreShow less3.0.03.0.0-RC13.0.0-beta53.0.13.1.03.2.03.3.03.4.03.5.03.6.0 |
3.6.1 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-38542 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.9) in Apache James, published January 4, 2022. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.35%, the 83rd percentile. Fixed in org.apache.james:james-server 3.6.1.