CVE-2022-28220
STARTTLS command injection in Apache JAMES
Apache James prior to release 3.6.3 and 3.7.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. Fix of CVE-2021-38542, which solved similar problem fron Apache James 3.6.1, is subject to a parser differential and do not take into account concurrent requests.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
Apache James prior to release 3.6.3 and 3.7.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. Fix of CVE-2021-38542, which solved similar problem fron Apache James 3.6.1, is subject to a parser differential and do not take into account concurrent requests.
- Record
CVE-2022-28220- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-77
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
STARTTLS command injection in Apache JAMES
Apache James prior to release 3.6.3 and 3.7.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. Fix of CVE-2021-38542, which solved similar problem fron Apache James 3.6.1, is subject to a parser differential and do not take into account concurrent requests.
- Record
CVE-2022-28220- Weakness
- CWE-77
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-6956 No score
Apache James prior to release 3.6.3 and 3.7.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. Fix of CVE-2021-38542, which solved similar problem fron Apache James 3.6.1, is subject to a parser differential and do not take into account concurrent requests.
- Record
EUVD-2022-6956- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-w45j-f5g5-w94x
Apache James vulnerable to buffering attack
Apache James prior to release 3.6.3 and 3.7.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. Fix of CVE-2021-38542, which solved similar problem fron Apache James 3.6.1, is subject to a parser differential and do not take into account concurrent requests.
- Record
GHSA-w45j-f5g5-w94x- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-77
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-w45j-f5g5-w94x
Apache James vulnerable to buffering attack
Apache James prior to release 3.6.3 and 3.7.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. Fix of CVE-2021-38542, which solved similar problem fron Apache James 3.6.1, is subject to a parser differential and do not take into account concurrent requests.
- Record
GHSA-w45j-f5g5-w94x- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-77
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV No score
STARTTLS command injection in Apache JAMES
Apache James prior to release 3.6.3 and 3.7.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. Fix of CVE-2021-38542, which solved similar problem fron Apache James 3.6.1, is subject to a parser differential and do not take into account concurrent requests.
- Record
CVE-2022-28220- Weakness
- CWE-77
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
org.apache.james:james-serverMaven |
before 3.6.3 | 3.6.3 |
org.apache.james:james-serverMaven |
3.7.0 to 3.7.0 | 3.7.1 |
org.apache.james:james-serverMaven |
before 3.6.3, plus listed versions 3.0-M13.0-M23.0-beta23.0-beta33.0-beta4 Show 11 moreShow less3.0.03.0.0-RC13.0.0-beta53.0.13.1.03.2.03.3.03.4.03.5.03.6.03.6.2 |
3.6.3 |
org.apache.james:james-serverMaven |
3.7.0 up to 3.7.1 | 3.7.1 |
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-2022-28220 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Apache James, published September 8, 2022. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.03%, the 81st percentile. Fixed in org.apache.james:james-server 3.6.3.