{"id":"CVE-2016-10033","aliases":["ALPINE-CVE-2016-10033","DEBIAN-CVE-2016-10033","DLA-770-1","DSA-3750-1","EUVD-2020-0331","GHSA-5f37-gxvh-23v6","MGASA-2017-0022","UBUNTU-CVE-2016-10033","USN-5956-1"],"status":"published","title":"Remote code execution in PHPMailer","description":"The mailSend function in the isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \\\" (backslash double quote) in a crafted Sender property.","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical","assessor":"primary","from":"nvd"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-08","score":0.99714,"percentile":0.99952,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":true,"known_exploited":true,"public_exploit":true,"fix_available":true},"cwes":["CWE-77","CWE-88"],"published":"2016-12-30T19:00:00Z","modified":"2026-10-24T10:46:19Z","kev":{"date_added":"2025-07-07","due_date":"2025-07-28","required_action":"Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","known_ransomware_use":"Unknown"},"exploitation":[{"source":"euvd","since":"2025-07-07"},{"source":"kev","since":"2025-07-07"}],"exploits":[{"source":"exploitdb","id":"EDB-40970","title":"PHPMailer \u003c 5.2.18 - Remote Code 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oit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","evidence","web"]},{"url":"https://www.drupal.org/psa-2016-004","tags":["x_refsource_CONFIRM","x_transferred","Third Party Advisory","advisory","web","report"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/42221/","tags":["exploit","x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","evidence"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40969/","tags":["exploit","x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","evidence"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41962/","tags":["exploit","x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","evidence"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40968/","tags":["exploit","x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB","x_transferred","Exploit","Patch","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","fix","report"]},{"url":"https://legalhackers.com/advisories/PHPMailer-Exploit-Remote-Code-Exec-CVE-2016-10033-Vuln.html","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Exploit","Patch","Third Party Advisory","fix","web","report"]},{"url":"https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/releases/tag/v5.2.18","tags":["x_refsource_CONFIRM","x_transferred","Patch","Vendor Advisory","fix","web","report"]},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/539963/100/0/threaded","tags":["mailing-list","x_refsource_BUGTRAQ","x_transferred","Broken Link","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/wiki/About-the-CVE-2016-10033-and-CVE-2016-10045-vulnerabilities","tags":["x_refsource_CONFIRM","x_transferred","Patch","Vendor Advisory","fix","web","report"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/140291/PHPMailer-Remote-Code-Execution.html","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","evidence","web","report"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40974/","tags":["exploit","x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","evidence"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40986/","tags":["exploit","x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","evidence"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40970/","tags":["exploit","x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB","x_transferred","Exploit","Patch","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","fix","report"]},{"url":"http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/multi/http/phpmailer_arg_injection","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","evidence","web"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41996/","tags":["exploit","x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","evidence"]},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2016/Dec/78","tags":["mailing-list","x_refsource_FULLDISC","x_transferred","Mailing List","Patch","Third Party Advisory","fix","web","report"]},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95108","tags":["vdb-entry","x_refsource_BID","x_transferred","Broken Link","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","evidence"]},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037533","tags":["vdb-entry","x_refsource_SECTRACK","x_transferred","Broken Link","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","advisory"]},{"url":"https://developer.joomla.org/security-centre/668-20161205-phpmailer-security-advisory.html","tags":["x_refsource_CONFIRM","x_transferred","Third Party Advisory","advisory","web","report"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/42024/","tags":["exploit","x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry","evidence"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2016-10033","tags":["government-resource","US Government Resource","web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/security/advisories/GHSA-5f37-gxvh-23v6","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10033","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/phpmailer/phpmailer/CVE-2016-10033.yaml","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/42221","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/42024","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41996","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41962","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40986","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40974","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40970","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40969","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40968","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-5f37-gxvh-23v6"},{"url":"https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2016-10033","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-10033","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer","tags":["package"]},{"url":"https://advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2017-0022.html","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=20069","tags":["report"]},{"url":"http://kalilinux.co/2017/01/12/phpmailer-cve-2017-5223-local-information-disclosure-vulnerability-analysis/","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3750","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/thread/JTXZSKTKOWTVEXDS76R6GJGI3MLA2LL5/","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-10033","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://legalhackers.com/advisories/PHPMailer-Exploit-Remote-Code-Exec-CVE-2016-10045-Vuln-Patch-Bypass.html","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-5956-1","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-10033","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-10045","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5223","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-11503","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2018-19296","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-13625","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-3603","tags":["report"]}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2016-10033","description":"The mailSend function in the isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \\\" (backslash double quote) in a crafted Sender property.","status":"published","published":"2016-12-30T19:00:00Z","modified":"2025-10-21T23:55:47.202Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical","assessor":"adp"}],"cwes":["CWE-88"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:33:31.450804Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2020-0331","description":"The mailSend function in the isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \\\" (backslash double quote) in a crafted Sender property.","status":"published","published":"2016-12-30T19:00:00Z","modified":"2025-10-21T23:55:47Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical"}],"exploited_since":"2025-07-07","updated_at":"2026-11-02T19:49:39.684828Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-5f37-gxvh-23v6","title":"Remote code execution in PHPMailer","description":"### Impact\nThe `mailSend` function in the default `isMail` transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \\\u0026quot; (backslash double quote) in a crafted `Sender` property.\n\n### Patches\nFixed in 5.2.18\n\n### Workarounds\nFilter and validate user input before passing it to internal functions.\n\n### References\nhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10033\nRelated to a follow-on issue in https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10045\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open a private issue in [the PHPMailer project](https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer)","status":"published","published":"2020-03-05T22:09:17Z","modified":"2025-10-22T17:33:44Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H","level":"critical"}],"cwes":["CWE-77","CWE-88"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:39:02.474737Z"}],"kev":[{"id":"CVE-2016-10033","title":"PHPMailer Command Injection Vulnerability","description":"PHPMailer contains a command injection vulnerability because it fails to sanitize user-supplied input. Specifically, this issue affects the 'mail()' function of 'class.phpmailer.php' script. An attacker can exploit this issue to execute arbitrary code within the context of the application. Failed exploit attempts will result in a denial-of-service condition.","cwes":["CWE-77","CWE-88"],"kev":{"date_added":"2025-07-07","due_date":"2025-07-28","required_action":"Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","known_ransomware_use":"Unknown"},"updated_at":"2026-11-02T17:00:15.999436Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2016-10033","description":"The mailSend function in the isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \\\" (backslash double quote) in a crafted Sender property.","status":"published","published":"2016-12-30T19:59:00.137Z","modified":"2026-06-17T00:38:55.477Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical","assessor":"primary"},{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical","assessor":"secondary"},{"version":"2.0","score":7.5,"vector":"AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P","level":"high","assessor":"primary"}],"cwes":["CWE-88"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:03:33.686843Z"}],"osv":[{"id":"ALPINE-CVE-2016-10033","description":"The mailSend function in the isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \\\" (backslash double quote) in a crafted Sender property.","status":"published","published":"2016-12-30T19:59:00.137Z","modified":"2026-09-22T06:30:07.060696302Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:27:46.318571Z"},{"id":"CVE-2016-10033","description":"The mailSend function in the isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \\\" (backslash double quote) in a crafted Sender property.","status":"published","published":"2016-12-30T19:59:00.137Z","modified":"2026-10-24T10:46:19.745768974Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:44:01.531338Z"},{"id":"DEBIAN-CVE-2016-10033","description":"The mailSend function in the isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \\\" (backslash double quote) in a crafted Sender property.","status":"published","published":"2016-12-30T19:59:00.137Z","modified":"2026-09-22T07:01:08.225578851Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:45:27.323751Z"},{"id":"GHSA-5f37-gxvh-23v6","title":"Remote code execution in PHPMailer","description":"### Impact\nThe `mailSend` function in the default `isMail` transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \\\u0026quot; (backslash double quote) in a crafted `Sender` property.\n\n### Patches\nFixed in 5.2.18\n\n### Workarounds\nFilter and validate user input before passing it to internal functions.\n\n### References\nhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10033\nRelated to a follow-on issue in https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10045\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open a private issue in [the PHPMailer project](https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer)","status":"published","published":"2020-03-05T22:09:17Z","modified":"2025-10-22T19:26:42.172992Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H","level":"critical"}],"cwes":["CWE-77","CWE-88"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:38.213481Z"},{"id":"UBUNTU-CVE-2016-10033","description":"The mailSend function in the isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.18 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail command and consequently execute arbitrary code via a \\\" (backslash double quote) in a crafted Sender property.","status":"published","published":"2016-12-30T19:59:00Z","modified":"2026-02-04T17:51:11.816366Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical"},{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical"},{"version":"3.0","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:54:11.100633Z"},{"id":"DLA-770-1","title":"libphp-phpmailer - security update","status":"published","published":"2016-12-31T00:00:00Z","modified":"2026-03-09T02:11:28.509221Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:13.207219Z"},{"id":"DSA-3750-1","title":"libphp-phpmailer - security update","status":"published","published":"2016-12-31T00:00:00Z","modified":"2026-03-09T01:18:55.330517Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:16.523846Z"},{"id":"MGASA-2017-0022","title":"Updated php-phpmailer packages fix security vulnerabilities","description":"It was discovered that PHPMailer, a popular library to send email from\nPHP applications, allowed a remote attacker to execute code if they were\nable to provide a crafted Sender address (CVE-2016-10033).\n\nIt was discovered that PHPMailer prior to 5.2.22 contained a local file\ndisclosure vulnerability if content passed to `msgHTML()` was sourced\nfrom unfiltered user input (CVE-2017-5223).\n","status":"published","published":"2017-01-27T09:19:09Z","modified":"2026-04-16T06:25:22.147379297Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:49:40.103088Z"},{"id":"USN-5956-1","title":"libphp-phpmailer vulnerabilities","description":"Dawid Golunski discovered that PHPMailer was not properly escaping user\ninput data used as arguments to functions executed by the system shell. An\nattacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code. This\nissue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 ESM. (CVE-2016-10033, CVE-2016-10045)\n\nIt was discovered that PHPMailer was not properly escaping characters\nin certain fields of the code_generator.php example code. An attacker\ncould possibly use this issue to conduct cross-site scripting (XSS)\nattacks. This issue was only fixed in Ubuntu 16.04 ESM and Ubuntu 18.04\nESM. (CVE-2017-11503)\n\nYongxiang Li discovered that PHPMailer was not properly converting\nrelative paths provided as user input when adding attachments to messages,\nwhich could lead to relative image URLs being treated as absolute local\nfile paths and added as attachments. An attacker could possibly use this\nissue to access unauthorized resources and expose sensitive information.\nThis issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 ESM. (CVE-2017-5223)\n\nSehun Oh discovered that PHPMailer was not properly processing untrusted\nnon-local file attachments, which could lead to an object injection. An\nattacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code. This\nissue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 ESM. (CVE-2018-19296)\n\nElar Lang discovered that PHPMailer was not properly escaping file\nattachment names, which could lead to a misinterpretation of file types\nby entities processing the message. An attacker could possibly use this\nissue to bypass attachment filters. This issue was only fixed in Ubuntu\n16.04 ESM and Ubuntu 20.04 ESM. (CVE-2020-13625)\n\nIt was discovered that PHPMailer was not properly handling callables in\nits validateAddress function, which could result in untrusted code being\ncalled should the global namespace contain a function called 'php'. An\nattacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code. This\nissue was only fixed in Ubuntu 20.04 ESM and Ubuntu 22.04 ESM.\n(CVE-2021-3603)\n","status":"published","published":"2023-03-15T14:33:12Z","modified":"2026-06-25T13:31:53.33751944Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T16:58:16.738762Z"}]}}