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CVE-2026-45185

Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in...

9.8 CriticalPublic exploitFix available

Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a CHUNKING transfer, followed by a final cleartext byte on the same TCP connection. This can lead to heap corruption. An unauthenticated network attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code.

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

1.27%Up 1.2 points since May 13, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 9.8

Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a CHUNKING transfer, followed by a final cleartext byte on the same TCP connection. This can lead to heap corruption. An unauthenticated network attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code.

Record
CVE-2026-45185
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-416
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-29824 9.8

Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a CHUNKING transfer, followed by a final cleartext byte on the same TCP connection. This can lead to heap corruption. An unauthenticated network attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code.

Record
EUVD-2026-29824
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-fhg4-whcv-f8v4 9.8

Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in...

Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a CHUNKING transfer, followed by a final cleartext byte on the same TCP connection. This can lead to heap corruption. An unauthenticated network attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code.

Record
GHSA-fhg4-whcv-f8v4
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-416
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 9.8

Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a CHUNKING transfer, followed by a final cleartext byte on the same TCP connection. This can lead to heap corruption. An unauthenticated network attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code.

Record
CVE-2026-45185
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-416
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2026-45185 9.8

Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a CHUNKING transfer, followed by a final cleartext byte on the same TCP connection. This can lead to heap corruption. An unauthenticated network attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-45185
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2026-45185 9.8

Exim before 4.99.3, in certain GnuTLS configurations, has a remotely reachable use-after-free in the BDAT body parsing path. It is triggered when a client sends a TLS close_notify mid-body during a CHUNKING transfer, followed by a final cleartext byte on the same TCP connection. This can lead to heap corruption. An unauthenticated network attacker exploiting this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45185
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVCLSA-2026-1781269872 No score

Fix CVE(s): CVE-2026-45185

  • SECURITY UPDATE: TLS close_notify use-after-free during active BDAT/CHUNKING transfer that can lead to unauthenticated remote code execution
    • debian/patches/CVE-2026-45185.patch: introduce tls_close_notify() that pops the BDAT receive layer, reinstalls plaintext receive callbacks via a new smtp_rcv_cleartext() helper, then re-pushes the BDAT layer before closing the TLS channel; switch the GnuTLS and OpenSSL receive paths from a bare tls_close() to tls_close_notify()
    • CVE-2026-45185
Record
CLSA-2026-1781269872
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-8382-1 No score

exim4 vulnerabilities

Timo Longin discovered that Exim incorrectly handled certain SMTP messages in PIPELINING/CHUNKING configurations. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to perform SMTP smuggling. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2023-51766)

It was discovered that Exim incorrectly handled certain malformed JSON data in headers. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to crash Exim, resulting in a denial of service, or execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-40685)

It was discovered that Exim incorrectly handled certain malformed UTF-8 headers. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to obtain sensitive information. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-40686)

It was discovered that Exim incorrectly handled certain SPA resources. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to crash Exim, resulting in a denial of service, or obtain sensitive information. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-40687)

It was discovered that Exim incorrectly handled certain CHUNKING transfers in some GnuTLS configurations. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to crash Exim, resulting in a denial of service, or execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-45185)

Warisjeet Singh discovered that Exim incorrectly handled certain proxy connections in builds with proxy support enabled. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to obtain sensitive information. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-48840)

Record
USN-8382-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
exim4
TuxCare:Ubuntu:20.04
before 4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
exim4-base
TuxCare:Ubuntu:20.04
before 4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
exim4-config
TuxCare:Ubuntu:20.04
before 4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
exim4-daemon-heavy
TuxCare:Ubuntu:20.04
before 4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
exim4-daemon-light
TuxCare:Ubuntu:20.04
before 4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
exim4-dev
TuxCare:Ubuntu:20.04
before 4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
eximon4
TuxCare:Ubuntu:20.04
before 4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2
exim4
Debian:12
before 4.96-15+deb12u9, plus listed versions
4.96-154.96-15+deb12u14.96-15+deb12u24.96-15+deb12u34.96-15+deb12u4
Show 4 moreShow less
4.96-15+deb12u54.96-15+deb12u64.96-15+deb12u74.96-15+deb12u8
4.96-15+deb12u9
exim4
Debian:13
before 4.98.2-1+deb13u2, plus listed versions
4.98.2-14.98.2-1+deb13u1
4.98.2-1+deb13u2
exim4
Debian:14
before 4.99.2-2, plus listed versions
4.98.2-14.98.2-1+hurd.14.98.2-24.99-14.99-2
Show 22 moreShow less
4.99-34.99-44.99-4~bpo13+14.99-54.99-64.99-6~bpo13+14.99-74.99-7~bpo13+14.99.1-14.99.1-1~bpo13+14.99.1-24.99.1-34.99.1-44.99.1-54.99.1-64.99.2-14.99.2-1~bpo13+14.99.2-2~bpo13+14.99~RC1-14.99~RC2-14.99~RC3-14.99~RC3-2
4.99.2-2
Show 11 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
exim4
Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.80-7ubuntu34.80-7ubuntu44.80-9ubuntu14.80-9ubuntu24.82-3ubuntu1
Show 13 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+esm44.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm64.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm74.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm84.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm9
None known
exim4
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.86-3ubuntu14.86-7ubuntu14.86-7ubuntu24.86-7ubuntu34.86.2-2ubuntu1
Show 15 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+esm24.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm44.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm54.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm64.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm74.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm84.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm9
None known
exim4
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.89-5ubuntu14.89-9ubuntu14.89-9ubuntu24.89-9ubuntu34.89-9ubuntu4
Show 15 moreShow less
4.90.1-1ubuntu14.90.1-1ubuntu1.14.90.1-1ubuntu1.24.90.1-1ubuntu1.34.90.1-1ubuntu1.44.90.1-1ubuntu1.54.90.1-1ubuntu1.84.90.1-1ubuntu1.94.90.1-1ubuntu1.104.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm14.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm24.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm34.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm44.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm54.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm6
None known
exim4
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS
before 4.93-13ubuntu1.12+esm1, plus listed versions
4.92.1-1ubuntu34.92.1-1ubuntu44.93~RC2-1ubuntu14.93-9ubuntu14.93-11ubuntu1
Show 11 moreShow less
4.93-12ubuntu14.93-13ubuntu14.93-13ubuntu1.14.93-13ubuntu1.54.93-13ubuntu1.64.93-13ubuntu1.74.93-13ubuntu1.84.93-13ubuntu1.94.93-13ubuntu1.104.93-13ubuntu1.114.93-13ubuntu1.12
4.93-13ubuntu1.12+esm1
exim4
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
before 4.95-4ubuntu2.8, plus listed versions
4.94.2-7ubuntu24.95-2ubuntu24.95-4ubuntu14.95-4ubuntu24.95-4ubuntu2.1
Show 6 moreShow less
4.95-4ubuntu2.24.95-4ubuntu2.34.95-4ubuntu2.44.95-4ubuntu2.54.95-4ubuntu2.64.95-4ubuntu2.7
4.95-4ubuntu2.8
exim4
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
before 4.97-4ubuntu4.5, plus listed versions
4.96-17ubuntu24.96-17ubuntu2.14.97-3ubuntu14.97-4ubuntu14.97-4ubuntu3
Show 5 moreShow less
4.97-4ubuntu44.97-4ubuntu4.14.97-4ubuntu4.24.97-4ubuntu4.34.97-4ubuntu4.4
4.97-4ubuntu4.5
exim4
Ubuntu:25.10
before 4.98.2-1ubuntu2.2, plus listed versions
4.98.1-1ubuntu24.98.2-1ubuntu14.98.2-1ubuntu24.98.2-1ubuntu2.1
4.98.2-1ubuntu2.2
exim4
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS
before 4.99.1-1ubuntu1.2, plus listed versions
4.98.2-1ubuntu24.99-4ubuntu14.99.1-1ubuntu14.99.1-1ubuntu1.1
4.99.1-1ubuntu1.2
exim4
Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS
before 4.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm9, plus listed versions
4.80-7ubuntu34.80-7ubuntu44.80-9ubuntu14.80-9ubuntu24.82-3ubuntu1
Show 12 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+esm44.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm64.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm74.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm8
4.82-3ubuntu2.4+esm9
exim4
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
before 4.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm9, plus listed versions
4.86-3ubuntu14.86-7ubuntu14.86-7ubuntu24.86-7ubuntu34.86.2-2ubuntu1
Show 14 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+esm24.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm44.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm54.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm64.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm74.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm8
4.86.2-2ubuntu2.6+esm9
exim4
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
before 4.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm6, plus listed versions
4.89-5ubuntu14.89-9ubuntu14.89-9ubuntu24.89-9ubuntu34.89-9ubuntu4
Show 14 moreShow less
4.90.1-1ubuntu14.90.1-1ubuntu1.14.90.1-1ubuntu1.24.90.1-1ubuntu1.34.90.1-1ubuntu1.44.90.1-1ubuntu1.54.90.1-1ubuntu1.84.90.1-1ubuntu1.94.90.1-1ubuntu1.104.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm14.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm24.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm34.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm44.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm5
4.90.1-1ubuntu1.10+esm6

Public exploits

Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.

Public exploits
SourceLinkDate
PoC in GitHub0init/CVE-2026-451852026-08-07
PoC in GitHubMJ-bin/POC_CVE-2026-451852026-05-19
PoC in GitHubliamromanis101/Dead.Letter-CVE-2026-451852026-05-12
PoC in GitHubmateraj2/cve-2026-45185-detection-script2026-05-14

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
first indexedCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub

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

In short

CVE-2026-45185 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Exim, published May 12, 2026. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.27%, the 69th percentile. Fixed in exim4 4.93-13ubuntu1.12+tuxcare.els2.

References

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