CVE-2017-16943
The receive_msg function in receive.c in the SMTP daemon in Exim 4.88 and 4.89 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (use-after-free) via vectors involving BDAT commands.
Does this matter?
EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 47.1%, higher than 99% of all known CVEs. Patch or mitigate before the next change window.
Description
The receive_msg function in receive.c in the SMTP daemon in Exim 4.88 and 4.89 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (use-after-free) via vectors involving BDAT commands.
- CVSS 3.0
- 9.8 CRITICALCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 47.15% probability · 99th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-416
- Affected
- exim/exim · debian/debian linux
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS moved from 43.6% on 21 September 2026 to 47.1% on 27 October 2026. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”.
References
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/25/1Mailing List
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/25/2Mailing List
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/25/3Mailing List
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/04/7
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039872Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2199Exploit, Issue Tracking
- https://git.exim.org/exim.git/commit/4090d62a4b25782129cc1643596dc2f6e8f63bdePatch
- https://git.exim.org/exim.git/commitdiff/4e6ae6235c68de243b1c2419027472d7659aa2b4Patch
- https://github.com/LetUsFsck/PoC-Exploit-Mirror/tree/master/CVE-2017-16944Exploit
- https://lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20171125.034842.d1d75cac.en.htmlMailing List
- https://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-4053Third Party Advisory
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/25/1Mailing List
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/25/2Mailing List
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/25/3Mailing List
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/04/7
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039872Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2199Exploit, Issue Tracking
- https://git.exim.org/exim.git/commit/4090d62a4b25782129cc1643596dc2f6e8f63bdePatch
- https://git.exim.org/exim.git/commitdiff/4e6ae6235c68de243b1c2419027472d7659aa2b4Patch
- https://github.com/LetUsFsck/PoC-Exploit-Mirror/tree/master/CVE-2017-16944Exploit
- https://lists.exim.org/lurker/message/20171125.034842.d1d75cac.en.htmlMailing List
- https://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-4053Third Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.