CVE-2021-38373
In KDE KMail 19.12.3 (aka 5.13.3), the SMTP STARTTLS option is not honored (and cleartext...
In KDE KMail 19.12.3 (aka 5.13.3), the SMTP STARTTLS option is not honored (and cleartext messages are sent) unless "Server requires authentication" is checked.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
In KDE KMail 19.12.3 (aka 5.13.3), the SMTP STARTTLS option is not honored (and cleartext messages are sent) unless "Server requires authentication" is checked.
- Record
CVE-2021-38373- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 3.5 Low
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-77, CWE-319
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
In KDE KMail 19.12.3 (aka 5.13.3), the SMTP STARTTLS option is not honored (and cleartext messages are sent) unless "Server requires authentication" is checked.
- Record
CVE-2021-38373- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-24826 No score
In KDE KMail 19.12.3 (aka 5.13.3), the SMTP STARTTLS option is not honored (and cleartext messages are sent) unless "Server requires authentication" is checked.
- Record
EUVD-2021-24826- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-rc8g-gfxp-864v No score
In KDE KMail 19.12.3 (aka 5.13.3), the SMTP STARTTLS option is not honored (and cleartext...
In KDE KMail 19.12.3 (aka 5.13.3), the SMTP STARTTLS option is not honored (and cleartext messages are sent) unless "Server requires authentication" is checked.
- Record
GHSA-rc8g-gfxp-864v- Weakness
- CWE-77
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
In KDE KMail 19.12.3 (aka 5.13.3), the SMTP STARTTLS option is not honored (and cleartext messages are sent) unless "Server requires authentication" is checked.
- Record
CVE-2021-38373- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2021-38373
In KDE KMail 19.12.3 (aka 5.13.3), the SMTP STARTTLS option is not honored (and cleartext messages are sent) unless "Server requires authentication" is checked.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2021-38373- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2021-38373
In KDE KMail 19.12.3 (aka 5.13.3), the SMTP STARTTLS option is not honored (and cleartext messages are sent) unless "Server requires authentication" is checked.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2021-38373- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
ksmtpDebian:12 |
before 21.12.3-2 | 21.12.3-2 |
ksmtpDebian:13 |
before 21.12.3-2 | 21.12.3-2 |
ksmtpDebian:14 |
before 21.12.3-2 | 21.12.3-2 |
kmailtransportUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 17.04.3-0ubuntu117.08.3-0ubuntu217.08.3-0ubuntu317.12.2-0ubuntu117.12.3-0ubuntu317.12.3-0ubuntu4 |
None known |
ksmtpUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 17.12.2-0ubuntu1 |
None known |
kmailtransportUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 19.04.3-0ubuntu119.04.3-0ubuntu219.12.3-0ubuntu1 |
None known |
ksmtpUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 19.04.3-0ubuntu119.04.3-0ubuntu219.12.3-0ubuntu119.12.3-0ubuntu2 |
None known |
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-2021-38373 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.3) in Kde Kmail, published August 10, 2021. 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 ksmtp 21.12.3-2.
References
nostarttls.secvuln.info
bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=423423
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38373
github.com/advisories/GHSA-rc8g-gfxp-864v
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-38373
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-38373
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-38373
kde.org/info/security/advisory-20211118-1.txt