{"id":"CVE-2021-38542","aliases":["EUVD-2022-0517","GHSA-84wg-rgp8-2hg4"],"status":"published","title":"Apache James vulnerable to STARTTLS command injection (IMAP and POP3)","description":"Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":5.9,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","level":"medium","assessor":"primary","from":"nvd"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-11","score":0.02347,"percentile":0.83882,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":true},"cwes":["CWE-327","CWE-77"],"published":"2022-01-04T08:55:21Z","modified":"2026-10-24T10:30:26Z","fixes":[{"ecosystem":"Maven","package":"org.apache.james:james-server","fixed_in":["3.6.1"],"sources":["ghsa","osv"]}],"affected":[{"source":"ghsa","ecosystem":"Maven","package":"org.apache.james:james-server","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"3.6.1"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Maven","package":"org.apache.james:james-server","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"3.6.1"}]}],"versions":["3.0-M1","3.0-M2","3.0-beta2","3.0-beta3","3.0-beta4","3.0.0","3.0.0-RC1","3.0.0-beta5","3.0.1","3.1.0","3.2.0","3.3.0","3.4.0","3.5.0","3.6.0"]}],"products":[{"vendor":"apache","product":"james"},{"vendor":"apache software foundation","product":"apache james"}],"references":[{"url":"https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/1","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory","advisory","web"]},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/1","tags":["mailing-list","x_refsource_MLIST","x_transferred","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory","advisory","web"]},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/09/20/1","tags":["mailing-list","x_refsource_MLIST","x_transferred","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory","advisory","web"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38542","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-84wg-rgp8-2hg4"}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2021-38542","title":"Apache James vulnerable to STARTTLS command injection (IMAP and POP3)","description":"Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.","status":"published","published":"2022-01-04T08:55:21Z","modified":"2024-08-04T01:44:23.485Z","cwes":["CWE-77"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:33:07.697752Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2022-0517","description":"Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.","status":"published","published":"2022-01-04T08:55:21Z","modified":"2024-08-04T01:44:23Z","updated_at":"2026-11-03T03:24:24.781045Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-84wg-rgp8-2hg4","title":"Command Injection in Apache James","description":"Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.","status":"published","published":"2022-01-08T00:40:33Z","modified":"2023-01-29T05:07:31Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":5.9,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","level":"medium"}],"cwes":["CWE-77","CWE-327"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:36:26.667347Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2021-38542","description":"Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.","status":"published","published":"2022-01-04T09:15:07.267Z","modified":"2026-06-17T04:02:19.87Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":5.9,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","level":"medium","assessor":"primary"},{"version":"2.0","score":4.3,"vector":"AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N","level":"medium","assessor":"primary"}],"cwes":["CWE-77","CWE-327"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:07:03.418194Z"}],"osv":[{"id":"CVE-2021-38542","description":"Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.","status":"published","published":"2022-01-04T09:15:07.267Z","modified":"2026-10-24T10:30:26.409413008Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":5.9,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","level":"medium"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:44:20.843843Z"},{"id":"GHSA-84wg-rgp8-2hg4","title":"Command Injection in Apache James","description":"Apache James prior to release 3.6.1 is vulnerable to a buffering attack relying on the use of the STARTTLS command. This can result in Man-in -the-middle command injection attacks, leading potentially to leakage of sensible information.","status":"published","published":"2022-01-08T00:40:33Z","modified":"2026-09-10T03:49:10.761167356Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":5.9,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","level":"medium"}],"cwes":["CWE-327","CWE-77"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:41.732368Z"}]}}