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CVE-2023-42115

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

9.8 CriticalPublic exploitFix available

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the service account. . Was ZDI-CAN-17434.

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

12.2%Up 12.1 points since May 3, 2024
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 9.8

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the service account. . Was ZDI-CAN-17434.

Record
CVE-2023-42115
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-787
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-46574 9.8

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the service account. . Was ZDI-CAN-17434.

Record
EUVD-2023-46574
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-67rj-8f2h-26fc 9.8

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows...

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the service account. Was ZDI-CAN-17434.

Record
GHSA-67rj-8f2h-26fc
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-787
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 9.8

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the service account. . Was ZDI-CAN-17434.

Record
CVE-2023-42115
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-787
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2023-42115 9.8

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the service account. . Was ZDI-CAN-17434.

Record
ALPINE-CVE-2023-42115
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-03
OSV 9.8

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the service account. . Was ZDI-CAN-17434.

Record
CVE-2023-42115
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-787
Updated
2026-11-02
Show 6 moreShow less
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2023-42115 9.8

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the service account. . Was ZDI-CAN-17434.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2023-42115
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-42115 9.8

Exim AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Exim. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the smtp service, which listens on TCP port 25 by default. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the service account. . Was ZDI-CAN-17434.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-42115
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2023:0293-1 No score

Security update for exim

This update for exim fixes the following issues:

  • CVE-2023-42114: NTLM Challenge Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability (boo#1215784)
  • CVE-2023-42115: AUTH Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (boo#1215785)
  • CVE-2023-42116: SMTP Challenge Stack-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (boo#1215786)
Record
openSUSE-SU-2023:0293-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:0007-1 No score

Security update for exim

This update for exim fixes the following issues:

exim was updated to 4.97.1 (boo#1218387, CVE-2023-51766):

  • Fixes for the smtp protocol smuggling (CVE-2023-51766)

exim was updated to exim 4.96:

  • Move from using the pcre library to pcre2.
  • Constification work in the filters module required a major version bump for the local-scan API. Specifically, the 'headers_charset' global which is visible via the API is now const and may therefore not be modified by local-scan code.
  • Bug 2819: speed up command-line messages being read in. Previously a time check was being done for every character; replace that with one per buffer.
  • Bug 2815: Fix ALPN sent by server under OpenSSL. Previously the string sent was prefixed with a length byte.
  • Change the SMTP feature name for pipelining connect to be compliant with RFC 5321. Previously Dovecot (at least) would log errors during submission.
  • Fix macro-definition during '-be' expansion testing. The move to write-protected store for macros had not accounted for these runtime additions; fix by removing this protection for '-be' mode.
  • Convert all uses of select() to poll().
  • Fix use of $sender_host_name in daemon process. When used in certain main-section options or in a connect ACL, the value from the first ever connection was never replaced for subsequent connections.
  • Bug 2838: Fix for i32lp64 hard-align platforms
  • Bug 2845: Fix handling of tls_require_ciphers for OpenSSL when a value with underbars is given.
  • Bug 1895: TLS: Deprecate RFC 5114 Diffie-Hellman parameters.
  • Debugging initiated by an ACL control now continues through into routing and transport processes.
  • The 'expand' debug selector now gives more detail, specifically on the result of expansion operators and items.
  • Bug 2751: Fix include_directory in redirect routers. Previously a bad comparison between the option value and the name of the file to be included was done, and a mismatch was wrongly identified.
  • Support for Berkeley DB versions 1 and 2 is withdrawn.
  • When built with NDBM for hints DB's check for nonexistence of a name supplied as the db file-pair basename.
  • Remove the 'allow_insecure_tainted_data' main config option and the 'taint' log_selector.
  • Fix static address-list lookups to properly return the matched item. Previously only the domain part was returned.
  • The ${run} expansion item now expands its command string elements after splitting. Previously it was before; the new ordering makes handling zero-length arguments simpler.
  • Taint-check exec arguments for transport-initiated external processes. Previously, tainted values could be used. This affects 'pipe', 'lmtp' and 'queryprogram' transport, transport-filter, and ETRN commands. The ${run} expansion is also affected: in 'preexpand' mode no part of the command line may be tainted, in default mode the executable name may not be tainted.
  • Fix CHUNKING on a continued-transport. Previously the usabilility of the facility was not passed across execs, and only the first message passed over a connection could use BDAT; any further ones using DATA.
  • Support the PIPECONNECT facility in the smtp transport when the helo_data uses $sending_ip_address and an interface is specified.
  • OpenSSL: fix transport-required OCSP stapling verification under session resumption.
  • TLS resumption: the key for session lookup in the client now includes more info that a server could potentially use in configuring a TLS session, avoiding oferring mismatching sessions to such a server.
  • Fix string_copyn() for limit greater than actual string length.
  • Bug 2886: GnuTLS: Do not free the cached creds on transport connection close; it may be needed for a subsequent connection.
  • Fix CHUNKING for a second message on a connection when the first was rejected.
  • Fix…
Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:0007-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:13282-1 No score

exim-4.96.1-1.1 on GA media

These are all security issues fixed in the exim-4.96.1-1.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.

Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:13282-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-6411-1 No score

exim4 vulnerabilities

It was discovered that Exim incorrectly handled certain challenge requests. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to perform out-of-bounds reads, resulting in information leakage. (CVE-2023-42114)

It was discovered that Exim incorrectly handled validation of user-supplied data. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to perform out-of-bounds writes, resulting in arbitrary code execution. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Ubuntu 23.04. (CVE-2023-42115)

It was discovered that Exim incorrectly handled certain challenge requests. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to perform out-of-bounds writes, resulting in arbitrary code execution. (CVE-2023-42116)

Record
USN-6411-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
exim
Alpine:v3.17
before 4.96.1-r0
4.96.1-r0
exim
Alpine:v3.18
before 4.96.1-r0
4.96.1-r0
exim
Alpine:v3.19
before 4.96.1-r0
4.96.1-r0
exim
Alpine:v3.20
before 4.96.1-r0
4.96.1-r0
exim
Alpine:v3.21
before 4.96.1-r0
4.96.1-r0
exim
Alpine:v3.22
before 4.96.1-r0
4.96.1-r0
exim
Alpine:v3.23
before 4.96.1-r0
4.96.1-r0
exim
Alpine:v3.24
before 4.96.1-r0
4.96.1-r0
exim4
Debian:12
before 4.96-15+deb12u2, plus listed versions
4.96-154.96-15+deb12u1
4.96-15+deb12u2
exim4
Debian:13
before 4.97~RC1-2
4.97~RC1-2
Show 14 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
exim4
Debian:14
before 4.97~RC1-2
4.97~RC1-2
exim4
Debian:11
before 4.94.2-7+deb11u1, plus listed versions
4.94.2-7
4.94.2-7+deb11u1
exim4
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
before 4.93-13ubuntu1.8, plus listed versions
4.92.1-1ubuntu34.92.1-1ubuntu44.93~RC2-1ubuntu14.93-9ubuntu14.93-11ubuntu1
Show 6 moreShow less
4.93-12ubuntu14.93-13ubuntu14.93-13ubuntu1.14.93-13ubuntu1.54.93-13ubuntu1.64.93-13ubuntu1.7
4.93-13ubuntu1.8
exim4
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
before 4.95-4ubuntu2.3, plus listed versions
4.94.2-7ubuntu24.95-2ubuntu24.95-4ubuntu14.95-4ubuntu24.95-4ubuntu2.14.95-4ubuntu2.2
4.95-4ubuntu2.3
exim4
Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS
before 4.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm6, plus listed versions
4.80-7ubuntu34.80-7ubuntu44.80-9ubuntu14.80-9ubuntu24.82-3ubuntu1
Show 9 moreShow less
4.82-3ubuntu24.82-3ubuntu2.14.82-3ubuntu2.24.82-3ubuntu2.34.82-3ubuntu2.44.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm14.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm24.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm34.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm4
4.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm6
exim4
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
before 4.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm4, plus listed versions
4.86-3ubuntu14.86-7ubuntu14.86-7ubuntu24.86-7ubuntu34.86.2-2ubuntu1
Show 9 moreShow less
4.86.2-2ubuntu24.86.2-2ubuntu2.14.86.2-2ubuntu2.24.86.2-2ubuntu2.34.86.2-2ubuntu2.44.86.2-2ubuntu2.54.86.2-2ubuntu2.64.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm14.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm2
4.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm4
exim4
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
before 4.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm1, plus listed versions
4.89-5ubuntu14.89-9ubuntu14.89-9ubuntu24.89-9ubuntu34.89-9ubuntu4
Show 9 moreShow less
4.90.1-1ubuntu14.90.1-1ubuntu1.14.90.1-1ubuntu1.24.90.1-1ubuntu1.34.90.1-1ubuntu1.44.90.1-1ubuntu1.54.90.1-1ubuntu1.84.90.1-1ubuntu1.94.90.1-1ubuntu1.10
4.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm1
exim
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP4
before 4.94.2-bp155.5.3.1
4.94.2-bp155.5.3.1
exim
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP5
before 4.94.2-bp155.5.3.1
4.94.2-bp155.5.3.1
exim
openSUSE:Leap 15.4
before 4.94.2-bp155.5.3.1
4.94.2-bp155.5.3.1
exim
openSUSE:Leap 15.5
before 4.94.2-bp155.5.3.1
4.94.2-bp155.5.3.1
exim
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP5
before 4.97.1-bp155.5.9.1
4.97.1-bp155.5.9.1
exim
openSUSE:Leap 15.5
before 4.97.1-bp155.5.9.1
4.97.1-bp155.5.9.1
exim
openSUSE:Tumbleweed
before 4.96.1-1.1
4.96.1-1.1

Public exploits

Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.

Public exploits
SourceLinkDate
PoC in GitHubkirinse/cve-2023-421152024-09-02
PoC in GitHubdoaso/CVE-2023-421152026-04-08

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected, aliases, exploits, referencesOSV
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2023-42115 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Exim, published September 28, 2023. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 12.2%, the 96th percentile. Fixed in exim 4.96.1-r0.

References

Show 19 moreShow less
This page doesn't list everything

Left out here: the rest of 1 source description. The JSON record has them.

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